Literature Focus II. The Growth and the Development of Fiction

T he novel is an extended fictional narrative written in prose. Typically, the narrative depicts the development of a character and revolves around a plot and a theme, which act as its organizing principle. The novel as we think of it came into being after Daniel Defoe published Robinson Crusoe in 1719. During this time, the novel was viewed primarily as a form of entertainment. In the mid-18th century, a few steps forward in the development of plot and characterization took place in the novels Pamela (1740) and Clarissa (1747–1748) by Samuel Richardson and Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1760–1767), a highly original work by Laurence Sterne, focused on characters’ conversations and remembrances instead of on action. These writers inspired other writers to take the novel form in new directions.

Many social factors converged to propel the novel to the forefront of the literary world. First, literacy rates for England’s growing middle class rose sharply, increasing readership and creating new markets for the 19^th-century novelist. Second, the emergence of libraries in the mid-1800s allowed greater access to literature. Most of these libraries were subscription libraries that charged customers an annual usage fee. At the forefront of this emergence was businessman Charles Edward Mudie. He wielded a tremendous amount of clout in the literary world because his library purchased thousands of copies of new books to loan to its customers. During this time, novels were often published in three volumes, called “triple-decker” novels, so publishers and subscription libraries could charge readers for each volume.

Third, innovations in publishing gave rise to inexpensive literary magazines which published complete novels in a series of short monthly installments. The serial novel became a popular trend in the 19^th century. Some authors completed their novels before publication, but others, such as Charles Dickens, used the reactions of their reads to shape the story’s events. Dickens, Wilkie Collins, William Thackeray, and Thomas Hardy all published several novels in serial form.

Finally, the novel was a new and evolving literary form; novelists from this period did not suffer from an “anxiety of influence.” Thus, the novel form allowed writers to experiment with new genres, such as the comic novel or the sporting novel. Jane Austen and William Thackeray continued an 18^th-century trend, writing romance novels and novels of manners. Wilkie Collins shaped the gothic novel into the suspenseful but more realistic sensation novel or crime fiction. Two other important genres of the nineteenth century were the social-problem novel and the Regionalist novel.

The Novel Comes of Age

The Victorian period (1832–1901) is often called the age of the novel. The Victorian era ushered in the focus on realistic depictions of life that continues to this day. Victorian novels are known for their realism—the detailed presentation of everyday life. Through the novel, Victorian writers wanted to document the lives and the values of the English, including the lower classes. As the Victorian era continued, social concerns began playing a greater role in the general society, and the novel became a tool for exposing society’s ills. No other writer used this tool as effectively as did Charles Dickens. His novels Oliver Twist (1837–1839), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1849–1850), and Bleak House (1852–1853), described in riveting detail the troubling state of England’s lower classes.