The Odd Women

The Odd Women is a Victorian novel which deals with themes such as the role of women in society, marriage, morals and the early feminist movement. There was the notion in Victorian England that there was an excess of one million women over men. This meant there were 'odd' women left over at the end of the equation when the other men and women had paired off in marriage. A cross-section of women dealing with this problem are described in 'The Odd Women' and it can be inferred that their lifestyles also set them apart as odd in the sense of strange.

George Gissing (1857-1903) was a British novelist who also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. Gissing's early novels were not well received, but he achieved greater recognition in the 1890s, both in England and overseas. The novels written at this time depicted the life of the working class. The increase in popularity was linked not just to his novels, but to his friendships with influential and respected literary figures such as the journalist Henry Norman, author J. M. Barrie and writer and critic Edmund Gosse. By the end of the 19th century, critics placed him alongside Thomas Hardy and George Meredith as one of the three leading novelists in England. Gissing's best known novels include New Grub Street, The Odd Women and The Nether World.