This sharply observed novel explores the intersecting lives of young artists and writers navigating the illusions and compromises of bohemian London. As friendships strain and love falters under the weight of ambition and social expectation, The Worldlings delivers a realistic portrait of Edwardian-era creatives chasing meaning in a city driven by status and success. Subtle in tone and rich in emotional depth, the novel critiques the cost of artistic pursuit in a world that often rewards conformity over truth.
Leonard Merrick (1864-1939) was a widely admired English novelist, whom J. M. Barrie called "the novelist's novelist." The Worldlings (1900) is a psychological investigation of a crime.