The book, “Gods of Modern Grub Street,” published in 1923, is a collection of 32 biographical articles featuring a variety of literary figures of early 20th century England, including photographs of each, compiled by Arthur St. John Adcock (1864-1930), an English novelist and poet. He was a Fleet Street journalist for half a century and also built a literary career. As an editor of The Bookman magazine since 1908, he became an influential critic in literary circles. Historically, in the 19th century, Grub Street was a street in an impoverished area of London, famous for its concentration of struggling “hack writers,” aspiring poets, and low-end publishers and booksellers. The street name no longer exists.
