New Grub Street · Character

Edwin Reardon

A serious novelist whose early promise has curdled into poverty and silence, Reardon watches his marriage and his vocation come apart under the pressure of money.

major

Also known as Reardon, Mr. Reardon, poor Reardon

First appearance: A Man of His Day

As a major figure in New Grub Street, Edwin Reardon is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Discussed as a failed artist who cannot adapt to the literary market, facing financial ruin due to his marriage.

In the storyA Man of His DayOpen this moment free

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Edwin Reardon once seemed the answer to Amy Yule's dreams of marrying a man of distinction, but his fine, slow novels have failed to sell and his pride will not let him write what the market wants. He retreats into his study, borrows from a secondhand bookseller, and grows estranged from the wife whose disappointment he can feel without being able to answer it. His friendship with Biffen and his rivalry with Milvain frame the novel's argument about what happens to an artist who refuses to compromise.

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Character Web

27 connections

A slice of how Edwin Reardon sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Central literary circle
Extended social and family network

+22 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where Jasper Milvain…

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Relationships

Amy Reardon
family · negative
Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain… How this plays out →
Jasper Milvain
rivalry · negative
Harold Biffen
friendship · positive
John Yule
family · ambivalent
Alfred Yule
professional · ambivalent
Amy Reardon
family · negative
Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain… How this plays out →
Amy Reardon
family · negative
Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain… How this plays out →
Jasper Milvain
rivalry · negative
Harold Biffen
friendship · positive
Jasper Milvain
rivalry · negative
John Yule
family · ambivalent
Alfred Yule
professional · ambivalent

Amy Reardon
Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success.
Jasper Milvain
Edwin resents Jasper's cynical success and his growing closeness to Amy, viewing him as a symbol of everything wrong with the literary market.
Harold Biffen
Edwin and Harold are close friends and fellow struggling writers, sharing a deep bond over their artistic ideals and mutual poverty.
John Yule
John Yule is Edwin's wealthy uncle, whose financial support and eventual inheritance create tension and dependency in Edwin's life.
Alfred Yule
Alfred and Edwin share a professional connection as fellow writers, but Alfred's bitterness and Edwin's failure create an uneasy dynamic.
Amy Reardon
Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success.
Amy Reardon
Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success.
Jasper Milvain
Edwin resents Jasper's cynical success and his growing closeness to Amy, viewing him as a symbol of everything wrong with the literary market.
Harold Biffen
Edwin and Harold are close friends and fellow struggling writers, sharing a deep bond over their artistic ideals and mutual poverty.
Jasper Milvain
Edwin resents Jasper's cynical success and his growing closeness to Amy, viewing him as a symbol of everything wrong with the literary market.
John Yule
John Yule is Edwin's wealthy uncle, whose financial support and eventual inheritance create tension and dependency in Edwin's life.
Alfred Yule
Alfred and Edwin share a professional connection as fellow writers, but Alfred's bitterness and Edwin's failure create an uneasy dynamic.

Relationship notes

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See Edwin Reardon in A Man of His Day

In the story

Edwin Reardon appears across 21 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

A Man of His Day
Discussed as a failed artist who cannot adapt to the literary market, facing financial ruin due to his marriage.
An Author and His Wife
Struggles with writer's block and despair over his inability to produce saleable work; feels like a failure and laments his artistic compromises.
The Way Hither
Protagonist; his early life, literary struggles, and meeting with Amy Yule are detailed.
The Practical Friend
Struggles with writing and discusses his creative block and financial troubles with Jasper, agreeing to try manufacturing a two-volume novel.
IX: Invita Minerva
Struggles to write a potboiler, suffers insomnia and suicidal ideation, argues with Amy about reviews.
X: The Friends of the Family
Reardon sells nearly a hundred books for two pounds ten shillings, feeling the loss of dear old friends. He struggles with writing and spends a gloomy evening with Amy.
Respite
Finishes his novel in physical pain and financial desperation, borrows money from Carter, and faces humiliation and marital strain.
Work Without Hope
Receives Jasper coolly, refuses his offer of a review, is writing a one-volume story but feels hopeless about his career.
XV: The Last Resource
Aged by poverty and anxiety, he struggles to write and is haunted by his past creative freedom.
Rejection
Dreads reading reviews of his novel 'Margaret Home', feels victimized by poverty, and plans a retreat to recover his writing powers.
XVII: The Parting
Struggles with shame and despair over poverty, considers selling furniture and books, and ultimately decides to take a clerkship despite Amy's objections.
The Old Home
Referenced as the failed novelist and husband who has moved to cheap lodgings, unable to write and support his family, leading to the separation.
The Past Revived
Struggles with despair after separation from Amy, sells his belongings, moves to cheap rooms, and starts a clerkship.
XX: The End of Waiting
Has taken a clerkship and moved to a poor area; encounters Jasper on the street and accuses him of influencing Amy.
XXII: The Legatees
Mentioned as the beneficiary of Amy's inheritance, which rescues him from poverty and the clerkship. Jasper expresses relief and amusement at his good fortune.
XXIV: Jasper’s Magnanimity
Mentioned as having quarreled with Jasper over Amy's discontent, and as having been offered a secretaryship.
XXV: A Fruitless Meeting
Consumed by self-pity and resentment after separation from Amy; sends monthly remittances, corresponds bitterly, demands a decision from Amy, and refuses to resume literary work despite Biffen's encouragement.
XXVII: The Lonely Man
Receives Amy's letter about her inheritance and writes a reply refusing to reunite, asserting that love is absent.
A Rescue and a Summons
In poor health and deep sadness, he lends Biffen money and paper, then receives a telegram from Amy about Willie's diphtheria and hurries to Brighton.
XXXII: Reardon Becomes Practical
Travels to Brighton in a feverish state, reunites with Amy, learns of Willie's death, and falls gravely ill himself.
XXXIII: The Sunny Way
Deceased; subject of Jasper's memorial article; Dora defends him against Amy.

Chapter companion notes

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