The Rise of the Office Clerk in Literary Culture, 1880-1939

This innovative study investigates the emergence and impact of the lower middle class on British print culture through the figure of the office clerk. Using a variety of source materials—including novels, magazines, newspapers, letters, and life writing—the author traces the literary profile of the white collar worker during a time of unprecedented change in class and culture. This interdisciplinary work explores key texts by George Gissing, Trollope, Thackeray, Dickens and Forster.