# Edwin Reardon — New Grub Street character guide > Edwin Reardon in New Grub Street by George Gissing. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Reardon, Mr. Reardon, poor Reardon **First appearance:** 0000-i-a-man-of-his-day ## Snapshot 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. ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [Amy Reardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/amy_reardon) _family_ Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success. ### [Jasper Milvain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/jasper_milvain) _rivalry_ 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/harold_biffen) _friendship_ Edwin and Harold are close friends and fellow struggling writers, sharing a deep bond over their artistic ideals and mutual poverty. ### [John Yule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/john_yule) _family_ John Yule is Edwin's wealthy uncle, whose financial support and eventual inheritance create tension and dependency in Edwin's life. ### [Alfred Yule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/alfred_yule) _professional_ Alfred and Edwin share a professional connection as fellow writers, but Alfred's bitterness and Edwin's failure create an uneasy dynamic. ### [Amy Reardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/amy_reardon) _family_ Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success. ### [Amy Reardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/amy_reardon) _family_ Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success. ### [Jasper Milvain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/jasper_milvain) _rivalry_ 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/harold_biffen) _friendship_ Edwin and Harold are close friends and fellow struggling writers, sharing a deep bond over their artistic ideals and mutual poverty. ### [Jasper Milvain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/jasper_milvain) _rivalry_ 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/john_yule) _family_ John Yule is Edwin's wealthy uncle, whose financial support and eventual inheritance create tension and dependency in Edwin's life. ### [Alfred Yule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/alfred_yule) _professional_ Alfred and Edwin share a professional connection as fellow writers, but Alfred's bitterness and Edwin's failure create an uneasy dynamic. ## In the story ### [A Man of His Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/iv-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/v-the-way-hither) Protagonist; his early life, literary struggles, and meeting with Amy Yule are detailed. ### [The Practical Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/vi-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/ix-invita-minerva) Struggles to write a potboiler, suffers insomnia and suicidal ideation, argues with Amy about reviews. ### [X: The Friends of the Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xi-respite) Finishes his novel in physical pain and financial desperation, borrows money from Carter, and faces humiliation and marital strain. ### [Work Without Hope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xv-the-last-resource) Aged by poverty and anxiety, he struggles to write and is haunted by his past creative freedom. ### [Rejection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xvi-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xviii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xix-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxi-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxiii-the-sunny-way) Deceased; subject of Jasper's memorial article; Dora defends him against Amy. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/edwin_reardon - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters