History of Novel
By Morbale Y.V. ( GKJC, Ratnagiri )
The eighteenth century has gifted english literature two entirely new forms-
1) The periodical essay
2) Novel
Novel-
A novel is a long narrative fiction which describes intimate human experiences normally in a prose form. Novel caught the spirit of the 18th century as the age of intellectual, sentimental and realistic. It has been gaining popularity and growing gradually. Today, it is recognized as the most dominant literary genre. The present english word for 'novel' is derived from the Italian 'novella ' meaning 'new'. A novel narrates a story embellishing it with more details of time, place, nature, people & their minds, gestures & activities.It creates the picture of the society of that time. Novel makes life easier to understand than in drama & poetry. It has a history of two thousand years as a literary genre. The earlier threads of the genre can be found in virgil's Ecologues, Malory's 'Morte De Arthur ' or Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The canterbury Tales
World's first novel- Murasaki Shikibu's ' Tale of Genji'.(1010)
The European novel is often said to begin with 'Don Quixote ' by spanish writer Cervantes.
After1740, novel originated as the literary form in England.The spread of machines could provide a time to the educated middle class for reading & discussions about books.
MAJOR NOVELISTS AND THEIR NOVELS
• The ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ by JOHN BUNYAN (1678)
• ‘’Oroonoku’’by APHRA BEHN (1688)
• ‘’Gulliver;s Travels’’ by JONATHAN SWIFT
• 18TH CENTURY NOVELISTS –Samuel Richardson(‘Pamela,or virtue
Rewarded,’’ ‘’Clarissa’’)
• Henry Fielding, Lawrence Sterne and Tobias Smollett
Stalwart novelists - Charles Dickens, Walter scolt, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Horace Walpole, Thomas Hardy, Willkie collins & H.G.Wells.
• The 20th century is marked by the modern topics and innovative styles and techniques used by the novelists – E.M.Forster, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, George Orwell, Graham Greene, D.H.Lawrence, William Golding and Anthony Burgess.
• Immigrant authors –Salman Rushdie(INDIA), V.S. Naipaul (TRINIDAD),
Kazuo Ishigura (JAPAN)
WOMEN NOVELISTS-
The contribution of women novelist can not be neglected
The novel of manners ‘Evelina’ by FRANCES BURNEY,
Gothic novels by ANN RADCLIFFE.
Science fiction ‘FRANKENSTEIN’ by MARY SHELLEY
JANE AUSTEN has been ruling over the minds of the people through her novels .
EMILY BRONTE AND CHARLOTTE BRONTE have created their place by famous work –’The
Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Jane Eyre’.
Virginia Woolf is the pioneer of the Stream of Consciousness technique in English novel.
Agatha Christie created her own place by writing many novels based on crime.
INDIAN TRADITION OF NOVELS -
' Rajmohan's wife' by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya was the first indian novel.
Mulkraj Anand, R.K. Narayan & Raja Rao were the major trio.
Other indian novelists - Anita Desai, Nayantara sahgal, Arun joshi, Manohar Malgaonkar, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram seth, upamanyu chatterjee, salman Rushdie, Arvind Adiga, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai & Kiran Nagarkar.
NOVELLA -
A novella, the word originated from the italian word ' novelle' is a type of prose fiction which is shorter than a full length novel and longer than short stories. It is a well structured yet short narrative, often satiric or realistic in tone. It usually focuses on one incident or issue with one or two characters and takes place at a single tradition
Some famous Novellas-
* ' The Heart of Darkness ' by Joseph Conrad
* ' The Turn of the Screw 'by Henry James
* ' Billy Budd' by Herman Melville
* ' Death in Venice ' by Thomas Mann
* ' Seize The Day ' by Saul Bellow
* ' Pearl' by John Steinbeck.
There are six important elements of
Novel or Novella. The author may relate
these factors for each other.
1. Theme -
It is the central idea of the novel which
can be expressed in few words. It is a philosophical statement or truth,which the writer must express through the
events and characters of the story.
For ex. Themes of An astrologer's day - Irony of fate Blind faith
Crime and Punishment Human Greed Karma (tit for tat)
2. Plot - It is the story or the series of events that makes up the theme. The plot is a result of confict. This confict may be - Internal ( Inside the character's mind) or External ( with other characters or enttes). The plot may be simple( a single plot or comlex ( consistng of many subplots mixed together. It is also called the soul of novel.
3. Characterization - It is the act of creating or describing characters. The course of events that takes place through the story is a result of the actions and behaviour of the characters. Due to this, characterizaton is closely linked with plot. The descripton and detailing of characters could be short ( a thumbnail sketch) or long ( an elaborate sketch) with minute details and consistng of many words. The writer usually takes care to describe his main character in full detail.In contrast, minor characters may not be given much importance. The main character whose actons are followed by the reader throughout the novel is known as ' protagonist '. The protagonist ( main character ) is usuallyin confict with a character or entty or a force ( internal or external) who or which is known as ' Antagonist '.
For ex. In the lesson ' The cop & The Anthem Protagonist or main character - soapy Minor characters - cop, waiters etc.
4. Setting - It is the background in which story takes place.It includes various aspects like place,period, time,weather & lifestyle. The characters and hence the plot are greatly affected by setting.
5. Conflict - The struggle between opposite forces in the story is called conflict. The purpose of confict is to generate curiosity and interest about the plot.
6. Language & style - The language & techniques used by the author to describe the course of events in the story is known as style.An authorcan use extensive vocabulary and high phrases or he may be laconic and would write only to the point or he may mix both according to the requirement for meetng his purpose. He may use linguistc devices to make the narratve effectve. All these factors decide the ‘texture’ of the narration and create an impact on the readers.
Types of Novel -
Realistic novel : The realistic novel is a fiction that gives the effect of realism. Sometimes this is also called a novel of
manner. It can be characterized by its complex characters with mixed motives that are rooted in the social class. The
characters in the realistic novel interact with other characters and undergo plausible and everyday experiences.
Picaresque novel : The word ‘picaresque’ is originated from the Spanish word ‘picaro,’ which means a rogue. A picaresque novel narrates the adventures of the protagonist, who is an eccentric or a disreputable person, in an episodic form.
Historical novel : A historical novel is a novel set in a period earlier than that of the writing.
Epistolary novel : The word ‘epistolary’ derives from the Latin word ‘epistola,’ which means a letter. The epistolary novel is that in which the writer presents the narrative through a series of correspondence or other documents. Although letters are the most common basis for epistolary novel, diary entries are also a popular form of this type.
Gothic novel : The novels that include terror, mystery, horror, thriller, supernatural, doom, death or decay or haunted buildings are called The Gothic novels.
Autobiographical novel : The autobiographical novel is the novel based on the life of the author. However, the author changes the places and names of characters or even may change or avoid certain details of his life. It may or may not
be in the first person narration.
Allegorical novel : An allegory is a story that bears more than one level of meaning. The surface meaning of such novel is different from the symbolic meaning of it. The symbolic meaning of an allegory may be political, religious, historical or philosophical.
Utopian/ Dystopian novel : Utopia is an imaginary community or society possessing the ideal qualities. It is a common literary theme, especially in science fiction
or speculative fiction.
Psychological novel : Psychological novel is the work of fiction that treats the internal life of the protagonist or even the other characters as much as the external factors.
Stream of Consciousness novel :
Stream of consciousness is a phrase coined by William James in his treatise ‘Principles of Psychology.’ (1890). It means the flow of the thoughts. Incidents in the plot are
in the sequence of their occurrences. The novelist narrates them as they enter the mind of the character.
‘Bildungsroman’ novel : The German word ‘bildungsroman’ indicates growth. The fictional biography or autobiography is concerned with the growth of the protagonist’s mind, spirit and characters from their childhood to adulthood. In the first half of the 20th century a cult of ‘pulp magazines’ became popular in which fantastic fiction for the general
entertainment of the masses was printed on the cheap pulp paper. The pulp fiction era provided a building ground for the detective novels and science fiction.Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic setting, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the
potential consequences of scientific and other innovations. ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelly (1823) is considered the first novel based on science and technology. The genre flourished in the second half of the 19th century.
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective-either professional or amateur-investigates a crime, often a murder.
(A) Complete the activities given below as per the instructions (4) ( HSC Sept 2021)
(i) Pick out the odd element from each line (2)
(a) Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, Daniel Defoe, Anthony Burgess.
Ans - Daniel Defoe
(b) Mystery, Style, Conflict, Character.
Ans - Mystery
(c) The turn of the screw, Aphra Behn, Rajmohan's Wife, Jane Eyre.
Ans - Aphra Behn
(d) Drama, Novel, Psychology, Poetry.
Ans - Psychology
(ii) Choose the correct alternatives and rewrite the sentences: (2)
(a) The novel as a literary genre has a history of about ---------- years.
[two thousand five hundred, two thousand, five hundred]
(b) The new literature written in the 18th century was characterised by-------------------
[mystery, fantasy, spirit of realism]
(c) In ------------ novel, the surface meaning is different from the symbolic meaning.
[Allegorical, Dystopian, Gothic]
(d) ---------------has coined the phrase: Stream of Consciousness'.
[Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, William James]
🟣 Choose the correct alternative and rewrite the sentence:
i. Eighteenth century gifted mankind with….
a) Drama and poetry
b) Novel and drama
c) Poetry and novel
d) Novel and periodical essays
➡️ Novel and periodical essays
ii. Novel soon became dominant literary genre as it ….
a) Helped people to live a more purposeful life.
b) Caught the intellectual, sentimental and realistic spirit.
c) grew gradually and gained popularity.
d) All of these.
➡️ All of these
iii. Indian writers in English Novel initially wrote about the theme of …..
a) Domestic violence.
b) Nationalistic and Social virtues.
c) Scientific theories.
d) Psychological insights.
➡️ Nationalistic and Social Virtues
iv. Gothic novel contains …….
a) Terror and supernatural.
b) Mystery and thriller.
c) Horror and haunted buildings.
d) All of these.
➡️ All of these
v. Strike out the unnecessary
Detective fiction is ….
a) A sub-genre of crime fiction.
b) Agatha Christie mastered the art of crime fiction.
c) Detectives can be professional or amateur.
d) Protagonist is a necessarily an eccentric person.
➡️ Protagonist is a necessarily an eccentric person.
🟣 Fill in the blanks by choosing correct alternative.
1) A novel is relatively a ….………narrative.
(Short / long /descriptive)
➡️ long
2) English word ‘Novel’ is derived from the Italian word …….
(Novella, Novelle, Novellus)
➡️ Novella
3) Geoffrey Chaucer wrote …….
(Morte De Arthur, The Canterbury Tales, Tale of Genji)
➡️ The Canterbury Tales
4) The Tale of Genji by Muraski Shikabu was published in the year ……
(1010, 1605, 1050, 1600)
➡️ 1010
5) ‘The Pilgrims Progress’ is a Novel written by …..
(John Bunyan, Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe)
➡️ John Bunyan
6) ………is the pioneer of the ‘Stream of Consciousness’ novel.
(Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf)
➡️ Virginia Woolf
7) The first Indian English novel ‘Rajmohan’s wife’ was written by …
(Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya)
➡️ Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya.
8) Joseph Conrad wrote the novella named as …….
(Billy Budd, The Heart of Darkness, Pearl)
➡️ The Heart of Darkness
9) Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with.........
(Futuristic settings, death and decay, earlier period than of writing)
➡️ Futuristic settings
10) The famous trio of Indian writers is …………
(Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao / Amitav Ghosh, Manohar Malgaonkar, Mulkraj Anand / Amitav Ghosh ,R.K.Narayan,Arvind Adiga)
➡️ Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao
🟣 Chronological Order
1. Write in chronological order
a) Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji
b) Greek Romances
c) The appearance of magazines and newspapers
d) Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
➡️ b, a, d, c
2. Write in chronological order
a) Industrial Revolution
b) Drama and Poetry started fading away
c) Novel gained popularity
d) The rise of middle class
➡️ a, d, b, c
3. Given below are some novels, events and writers of Indian English. Arrange them in
chronological order.
a) Rise of famous Indian Trio
b) Nayantara Sahgal, Arun Joshi, Manohar Malgaonkar
c) Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Kiran Nagarkar
d) Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
➡️ d, a, b, c
4. Given below are some Novels in English literature. Arrange them in their order of their appearance.
a) The Pilgrim’s Progress and Oroonaku
b) Ecologues and Morte De Arthur
c) Pamela and Gulliver’s Travels
d) The Tale of Genji and Don Quxiote
➡️ d, b, a, c
🟣 State whether the following sentences are True or False
1. Novel is recognized as the most dominant literary genre in modern times.
➡️ True
2. A Novel is relatively a short narrative.
➡️ False
3. ‘Tale of Genji’ is described as world’s first novel.
➡️ True
4. Middle class people had a little interest in romances and tragedies.
➡️ True
5. Novel gave voice to the aspirations and longings of middle class.
➡️ True
6. The women novelists haven’t contributed significantly in English Literature.
➡️ False
7. Novella is greater in length than Novel.
➡️ False
8. Setting doesn’t affect plot or characters.
➡️ False
9. The struggle in opposite forces in a story is called as conflict.
➡️ True
10. Epistolary Novel is a series of correspondence, other documents and diary entries as well.
➡️ True
🟣 Match the following
1. Match essential elements of the novel in column A with relevant points in column B.
A B
1. Theme a) can be a thumbnail or deep detailed sketch
2. Plot b) the background of the story
3. Character c) philosophical statement, a central idea
4. Setting d) Course of the events
➡️ 1- c, 2- d, 3- a, 4- b
2. Match the following
A B
1. Theme a) philosophical statement, a central idea
2. Plot b) the struggle in between opposite forces
3. Conflict c) techniques of the narration
4. Language, Style d) Course of the events
➡️ 1- a, 2-d, 3- b, 4- c
3. Match the following
A B
1. Agatha Christie a) stream of consciousness
2. William James b) crime fiction
3. George Eliot c) science-based novels
4. Mary Shelly d) psychological novels
➡️ 1- b, 2- a , 3- d, 4- c
4. Match the following
A B
1. Virginia Woolf a) gothic novels
2. Mary Shelly b) novel of manners
3. Frances Burney c) science-based novels
4. Ann Radcliffe d) stream of consciousness
➡️ 1- d, 2- c, 3- b, 4- a
5. Match the following
A B
1. Rise of the middle-class a) 18th century literature
2. The spirit of realism and denial of romanticism
b) Industrial Revolution
3. Novel and periodical essay
c) Stories of ideal love and
adventures
4. The tales of Greek romances d) Novel as a literary genre
➡️ 1- b, 2- d, 3- a, 4- c
6. Match the following
A B
1. The flow of thoughts a) Bildungsroman novel
2. The internal life of the protagonist b) Stream of
Consciousness
3. The novel based on the life of the author
c) Psychological novel
4. The growth of protagonist’s mind, spirit and characters
d) Autobiographical novel
➡️ 1- b, 2- c, 3- d, 4- a
7. Match the following
A B
1. Daniel Defoe a) Gulliver’s Travels
2. Jonathan Swift b) Robinson Crusoe
3. Samuel Richardson c) The Pilgrim’s Progress
4. John Bunyan d) Pamela
➡️ 1- b, 2- a, 3- d, 4- c
8. Match the following
A B
1. Picaresque Novel a) bears more than one layers of meaning.
2. Historical Novel b) speculative fiction
3. Allegorical Novel c) adventures of an eccentric protagonist
4. Utopian Novel d) set in an earlier period than of the writing.
➡️ 1- c, 2-d, 3- a,4- b
9. Match the following
A B
1. Thomas Mann a) The Heart of Darkness
2. John Steinbeck b) The Turn of the Screw
3. Henry James c) Death in Venice
4. Joseph Conrad d) Pearl
➡️ 1- c, 2- d, 3-b, 4- a
Complete the sentence:
1. The Periodical Essay and Novel are the gifts of ………… .
(18 th century/ 17 th century /19 Th century)
➡️ 18 th century
2. A Novel is relatively a ………….
(a short narrative fiction/ a long narrative fiction / a fiction of moderate length)
➡️ a long narrative fiction
3. The industrial revolution gave birth to ……… .
(poor class/ middle class/ rich class)
➡️ middle class
4. Appearance of newspaper in 18 th century attracted a large number of readers from
……….. (poor class/ middle class/ rich class)
➡️ middle class
5. Rise of Novel as a literary genre resulted in lowering the importance of ………………
(poetry/ drama/ Drama and Poetry)
➡️ drama & poetry
6. Salman Rushdie, V. S. Naipaul, Kazuo Ishigura are ………..
(Indian authors/ immigrant authors/writers of Indian origin)
➡️ immigrant authors
🟣 Match the following items from column A with those from column B ( March 2022)
A B
a) Murasaki Shikibu i) The Pilgrim's Progress b) Jonathan Swift ii) Gulliver's Travels
c) John Banyan iii ) Rajmohan's wife
d) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
iv) Tale of Genji
V
Ans - a) Murasaki Shikibu - iv) Tale of Genji
b) Jonathan Swift - ii) Gulliver's Travels
c) John Banyan - i) The Pilgrim's Progress
d) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay- iii ) Rajmohan's wife
🟣 Pick the odd word out-
1) Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Henry Fielding,Anita Desai
➡️ Henry Fielding
2. Plot,novella,setting,theme
➡️ novella
3. Place, time, climate, epistolary
➡️ epistolary
4. Horror, mystery, picaresque,thriller
➡️ picaresque
Activities based on History of Novel ( Feb-2025)
Q5 A ( Answers)
1. Odd element
a) Novella
b) George Orwell
c) The Heart of Darkness
d) Utopian
True / False
1. Detective friction is a subgenre of crime fiction.- True
2. 'Tale of Genji ' is written by Miguel de cervantes - False
3. The main character is referred as the 'protagonist ' - True
4. 'Picaresque Novel' is based on the life of the author. - False
