Simon James is an English academic and specialist in late Victorian and Edwardian fiction, especially George Gissing

George Gissing

George Robert Gissing was an English novelist who published twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era.-Early life:...

 and H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...

. A senior lecturer in English at Durham University

Durham University

The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

, he is also currently editor of The Wellsian, the journal of the H. G. Wells Society

H. G. Wells Society

The H.G. Wells Society, founded in 1960, is an international association composed of people interested in the life, work and thought of the British writer and thinker Herbert George Wells , and encouraging a wider interest in his writings and ideas...

.

As well as publishing a book on George Gissing and writing many academic articles, he has also edited four H. G. Wells novels for Penguin Classics (The History of Mr Polly, Kipps

Kipps

Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. Humorous yet sympathetic, this perceptive social novel is generally regarded as a masterpiece, and was the author's own favourite work.-Plot:...

, Love and Mr Lewisham

Love and Mr Lewisham

Love and Mr Lewisham is a 1900 novel by H. G. Wells, amongst his first outside the science fiction genre.-Plot summary:Mr. Lewisham leaves the country to live in London. His youthful dreams of fame and glory slowly fade, replaced by the possibility of redemption through love. Mr. Lewisham attends...

and The New Machiavelli) and has written articles for the Times Literary Supplement and the Oxford Companion to English Literature.

Published works

• Unsettled Accounts: Money and Narrative in the Novels of George Gissing (London: Anthem Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1843311072)

External links

• Durham University Profile