SOURCE: “Short Stories,” in George Gissing: A Critical Study, Kennikat Press, 1923, pp. 125-36.

In the following essay, Swinnerton offers a mixed assessment of Gissing's short fiction, but praises his adept characterization, particularly his female characters.

The art of the short story, it has been sufficiently explained by critics who specialise in short stories, is very different from that of the novel. Mr. Max Beerbohm, in a reckless mood, once said that as the brick was to the house, so was the short story to the long one (and it is true that the novel makes in every way greater demands upon the imagination, the invention, and the staying powers of the author); but it is well known that Mr. Beerbohm is a law unto himself in these matters, and others, taking his words in a very literal sense, have thought differently. Gissing might have agreed with Mr. Beerbohm...