A novel of social realism, The Odd Women reflects the major sexual and cultural issues of the late nineteenth century. Unlike the "e;New Woman"e; novels of the era which challenged the idea that the unmarried woman was superfluous, Gissing satirizes that image and portrays women as "e;odd"e; and marginal in relation to an ideal. Set in a grimy, fog-ridden London, Gissing's "e;o...