George Moore's writing holds an important place between Victorian and modernist literature. While scholars recognize that 1880-1920 was a period of transition, some are still uncomfortable with Moore. A man of letters who worked in many literary genres, he should be remembered for his achievements as an art and theater critic, a novelist, and a writer of short fiction and memoirs. Since he had opinions on most topics, one can argue that he is at his best as a memorialist, in such works as Confessions of a Young Man (1888), Memoirs of My Dead Life (1906), Hail and Farewell (1911-1914), and Conversations in Ebury Street (1924). Many of these use the "imaginary conversation" device popularized by William Hazlitt and Thomas De Quincey, mix reverie and narration, and freely fictionalize to make events and people more interesting.

Self-conscious attempts at art rather than truth, these memoirs introduce a host of literary figures--William...