The Paying Guest (1895) NOVEL By George Gissing (Classics) The Paying Guest is a satirical novella by George Gissing, first published in 1895 by Cassell, as part of their Pocket Library series. It recounts the experiences of the Mumfords, a middle-class family who invite a "paying guest" into their home to supplement their income. Written in an unusually comic tone compared with Gissing's earlier works, 1] The Paying Guest was generally received well by critics. Gissing himself, however, was not satisfied with the work. Clarence and Emmeline Mumford are a middle-class couple, living in suburban Sutton on the outskirts of London with their two-year-old son. Reading the newspaper, they become aware of a young woman seeking a place as a "paying guest", or lodger. To supplement their income they respond to the advertisement and meet the prospective tenant, named Louise Derrick, who is in need of a place to live due to disagreements with her immediate family. Louise, who is poorly educated and bad-tempered, is being romantically pursued by two men: Mr Bowling, who is courting Louise's stepsister Cecily, and Tom Cobb. Gissing was commissioned to write The Paying Guest by Cassell, as part of their Pocket Library series. Gissing wrote the manuscript in the first half of July 1895. 3] It was one of three one-volume works by Gissing published in 1895, the other two being Eve's Ransom and Sleeping Fires; the latter of these was published in Unwin's Autonym Library series. Gissing was not satisfied with The Paying Guest, describing it in a private letter as "a poor little book" and a "frothy trifle". His experience persuaded him, according to his diary, to "have no more to do with these series of little books".