The novel originated in the 14th century from Italian novellas and was influenced by ancient Greek and Roman stories and medieval romances. It developed as a popular genre in the 18th century with works like Robinson Crusoe and Pamela. Major 19th century novelists like the Brontës, Dickens, Eliot, and Hardy established conventions of complex plots, character development, and social commentary. The Victorian era saw the rise of the novel as a dominant literary form. In the 20th century, modernist novels experimented with narrative techniques and addressed wider themes. Key features of the novel include telling a story through prose narrative of extended length with fictional characters and events.

1. BA.ELT,Sem.III
Text:
A novel may be defined as a long work of prose fiction comprising of characters,
incidents and a plot. The word 'novel' comes from the Italian ‘novella' meaning a
piece of news' or 'tale', and was first applied to tales like Boccaccio's Decameron,
which were very popular in the fourteenth century. Though it originated much
after other genres like poetry and drama, it is one of the most popular forms of
literature today.
The roots of the novel form may be traced to ancient Greece and Rome. The
Greeks wrote stories called 'romances that described tales of adventure and love.
Roman examples of this form include the Latin works Satyricon (first century
CE) by Gaius Petronius and Metamorphoses (also known as The Golden Ass,
first century CE) by Lucius Apuleius. Other forerunners of the form are Thomas
Malory's Middle English prose romance, Morte d'Arthur (published
posthumously in 1485); Philip Sidney's pastoral romance, Arcadia (written in the
late sixteenth century); Thomas Nashe's picaresque narrative, The Unfortunate
Traveller (1594); and Miguel de Cervantes's Spanish masterpiece, Don Quixote
(early seventeenth century).
Critics are divided in their opinion as to which work could be credited as being
the first novel in English. Many consider Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719)
as the first English novel. Others dismiss the claim as they feel it is not a proper
novel, but just a series of episodes, as is Defoe's next work, Moll Flanders (1722).
Some critics believe the distinction should go to Samuel Richardson's Pamela
(1740), as it contains a well developed plot. The popularity of Pamela paved the
way for other novelists. Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett and Laurence Sterne
number among the great novelists of the eighteenth century.
The popularity of the novel grew with the passing of every century. In the
nineteenth century, many great novels were written by authors such as Walter
Scott, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, William Makepeace
Thackeray, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy and Henry
James, to name just a few. In the twentieth century, the novel saw tremendous
changes and became a highly sophisticated art form in the hands of writers such
The Novel (Victorian Age)
Notes by:
Dr. G. N. Khamankar, Head,Dept.of English,
Vivekanand Mahavidhyalaya, Bhadrawati

2. as Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, John Fowles, Graham Greene,
and William Golding. In the twenty-first century, novels are being written in
almost every corner of the globe, and novelists continue to experiment with
various styles, plots and techniques. There are many different kinds and genres
of novels. However, four main features distinguish the novel as a unique literary
form.
Features of the Novel
 The novel is a narrative. It essentially tells a story that is narrated by one
of the characters or by an omniscient narrator (the author). In this it differs
from drama, where the story unfolds through dialogue on the stage.
 The novel is written in prose rather than in verse (though there are very
rare exceptions, such as Vikram Seth's The Golden Gate, which is written
entirely in verse). The fact that a novel is almost always in prose
distinguishes it as a form from long narrative poems.
 The novel is a work of fiction, which differentiates it from other forms of
prose such as biographies, autobiographies and histories.
 The novel is an extended prose narrative, unlike the short story which is
much smaller in scope and length. The novel typically runs into several
hundred pages and covers a larger period of time, with more action and
characters than a short story.
Novels in the Victorian Age
The Victorian Age refers to the period of Queen Victoria's reign (18371901). It
is difficult to accurately point out when the transition from the Romantic Age
began since the literature of some of the later Romantics, like Jane Austen,
foresaw the style and subjects of early Victorian literature.
The most prominent aspect of English life and society during the Victorian Age
was change. The rise of the middle class and their growing affluence alienated
the lower and working classes. The growing urban population of the working
class and their wretched existence in conditions of poverty challenged ideas of
utopianism and gave way to pessimism and despair. Established doctrines of
religion and belief were questioned. In the political sphere there were calls for
reforms and democracy. More people received voting rights, there was
improvement in the field of educa and women became increasingly aware of their
rights and rightful in society. The theories of Bentham, Darwin and Socialism
influe thinking and public opinion. It was against such a turbulent backd that
Victorian literature developed.
Victorian literature asserted that art had a moral purpose. Ideals of democracy,
civil and human rights as well as science were topics of interest The literature of
the age reflected daily life and drew idealised portraits of characters that endured
difficulties but triumphed in the face of adversity through hard work, love and

3. good fortune. The conflict between faith and reason was reflected in Victorian
literature. Above all, the Victorian Age was the age of the novel.
The English novel essentially became a middle-class literary art form partly
because of an increase in the number of readers and partly because it was an ideal
vehicle to present a picture of life in a society and all its aspects. It became a
medium of entertainment and provided a means of escape from the realities of
everyday life. The appeal of the novel lay in its realistic plots and characters that
were flawed. Morals, morality and crusades against social evils were of interest
and seen as necessary to the plot.
Charles Dickens (1812-70) was a prolific writer who wrote short stories, plays,
novels and novellas. He was known for creating remarkable characters and for
his skilful delineations of the social classes and mores of the time. He also had an
extraordinary gift for irony and caricature. Aware of the problems in society, he
often addressed these issues through his characters and their actions-in Hard
Times he explored the morality of industrialism and its effect on human
happiness. Above all, he was the great entertainer of the Victorian middle classes.
His major novels include The Pickwick Papers (1837), Oliver Twist (1838),
Nicholas Nickleby (1839), David Copperfield (1850), The Old Curiosity Shop
(1841), Hard Times (1854), A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Great Expectations
(1861).
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63) began as an artist, painter and
journalist whose early works consisted of sketches, essays, satires and various
humorous and descriptive writings. He had a discerning eye to social pretension
and hypocrisy. His work illustrated the ironies of social success and sketched the
follies and vanities of high society. The of Barry Lyndon (1844) focuses on the
events surrounding a scoundrel aspiring to a place in high society, and the
hypocrisy, vanity and snobbery which lies behind the mask of social stature.
These were recurring themes in his novels including Vanity Fair (1848), for
which he is best known.
Other notable novels by him include Pendennis (1850), The Newcomes (1855),
which was a critical portrayal of marriage, The Adventures of Philip (1861), a
semi-autobiographical novel, and The History of Henry Esmond (1852).
Thackeray was ranked second only to Charles Dickens during the Victorian era
but is now mostly remembered for Vanity Fair.
Emily (1818-48) and Charlotte Bronte (1816-55) were both novelists, Charlotte
was the eldest of the three Brontë sisters. A poet, she also wrote four novels, one
of which was unfinished. Charlotte published her works under the pseudonym
Currer Bell. She was sensitive, passionate and sensuous in temperament and these
traits were reflected in her novels to some extent. Her published novel Jane Eyre
(1847), which scholars believe contain autobiographical elements, brought her
fame and critical appreciation. The novel has a highly charged narrative full of

4. passion and melodrama. Her novels Shirley (1849), Villette (1853) and The
Professor (1857) are all varied accounts of her own 'emotional history and express
her desire for self-reliance and independence.
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847), written under the name Ellis Bell, is
her first and only novel. It was met with mixed reviews when first published
because of its stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty and the unromantic
behaviour of its central characters. The latter went against all Victorian ideas of
accepted behaviour. Its core theme is the enduring love between the heroine
Catherine Earnshaw and her father's adopted son Heathcliff, and the book
explores the destructive results this has on the lives of everyone around them. The
novel has no parallel in English literature and is the work of a woman who ... cut
herself off deliberately from normal human intercourse (to live throughout her
short life in a private world of imaginary passion'.
George Eliot (Marian Evans), (1819-80) is one of the prominent writers of the
Victorian era. Her works resonate with the artistic and intellectual concerns of the
age and address the ambiguities and contradictions of Victorian society. She is
the author of seven novels of which the most prominent are Adam Bede (1859),
The Mill on the Floss (1860). Silas Marner (1861) and Middlemarch (1871). Her
books were praised for the manner in which they depicted rural life. She was the
first novelist to focus on character rather than incident, and on spiritual rather
than physical drama. A strong philosophical undercurrent in her artistry is
unmistakable. A recurring theme in her works is the moral dilemma women face
in a patriarchal society, and the limitations imposed on them by lack of
educational, professional and economic opportunities is explored in The Mill on
the Floss. Her works were also praised by her contemporaries for their realism,
humour and honest depiction of childhood.
Thomas Hardy (18401928) is a renowned figure in literary him A prolific poet
and novelist, he wrote fourteen novels, three volume short stories and several
significant poems between 1871 and 1897. From1898 until his death in 1928,
Hardy published eight volumes of poetry and, between 1903-08, published The
Dynasts, a huge poetic drama in three parts, nineteen acts and one hundred and
thirty scenes set against the Napoleonic Wars. He began his literary career as a
poet and later took to writing fiction to support himself financially. His first novel
The Poor Man and the Lady (1867) was rejected by his publishers, albeit, with
encouraging comments. After persistent efforts his novel Desperate Remedies
(1871) was published. This was followed by Under The Greenwood Tree (1872)
in which he first drew upon with skill and authenticity the characters and life of
rural England. This was to become the background for almost all his novels His
stories portray a continuous interplay between nature, civilisation and human
character. He excelled in his depiction of simple, rustic people. He tasted success
with the publication of Far From the Madding Crowd (1874) and over the next
ten years published ten other novels, many of them filled with memorable

5. characters and extraordinary descriptive passages The Return of the Native
(1878). The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), which was considered to be his
masterpiece, The Woodlanders (1887), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude
the Obscure (1895) are his most enduring works of fiction.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94) was a talented Scottish writer of considerable
originality. His body of work is remarkable for covering a wide range of genres:
essays, travel writing, short stories, novels, poetry, plays, biographies and even
music. His stories were carefully constructed and neatly phrased. His fascination
for travel and adventure is evident in novels like Treasure Island (1883), The
Beach of Falesá (1893) and The Ebb-Tide (1894). Other popular works include
Kidnapped (1886) and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1930) wrote poetry, short stories and novels. He is
chiefly remembered for his tales and poems of British India and stories for
children. His novels are observations of the quirky anomalies of British Raj
during its relatively peaceful and prosperous period between the Mutiny of 1857
and the growth of the independence movement was the detached European
outsider who tried to see India from inside. spite of his romantic notions of the
British Empire and his approval of imperialism, he also pointed out the demerits
of the colonial regime. His important works of fiction include The Jungle Book
(1894), Just So Stories (1902), Kim (1901), Captains Courageous (1897) and
short story collections such as Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) and The Phantom
'Rickshaw and Other Tales (1888). His abilities as a writer are best summed up
in the words of T. S. Eliot: 'An immense gift for using words, an amazing
curiosity and power of observation with his mind and with all his senses, the mask
of the entertainer, and beyond that a queer gift of second sight, of transmitting
messages from elsewhere, a gift so disconcerting when we are made aware of it
that thenceforth we are never sure when it is not present: all this makes Kipling a
writer impossible wholly to understand and quite impossible to belittle.

6. Que.1. What is novel? Explain in detail.
Or Describe the origin, development and features of the novel?
Ans. The term novel comes from the Italian ‘novella’ meaning a piece of news
or tale. It was first applied to tales like Boccaccio’s Decameron which were very
popular in the fourteenth century. Though it originated much after other genres
like poetry and drama, it is one of the most popular forms of literature today.
The origin of the novel lay in the mediaeval romances as a fantastic tale of love
and adventure. Roman examples of this form include the Latin works ‘Satyricon’
by Gaius Petronius and ‘Metamorphoses’ by Lucius Apuleius. Other forerunners
of the form are Thomas Malory's prose romance, Morte d'Arthur, Philip Sidney's
pastoral romance, Arcadia, Thomas Nashe's picaresque narrative, The
Unfortunate Traveller, and Miguel de Cervantes's Spanish masterpiece, Don
Quixote.
Critics have different opinion about the first novel in English. Many consider
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe as the first English novel. Others dismiss the
claim as they feel it is not a proper novel, but just a series of episodes. Some
critics believe the distinction should go to Samuel Richardson's Pamela, as it
contains a well developed plot. The popularity of Pamela paved the way for other
novelists. Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett and Laurence Sterne are the greatest
novelists of the eighteenth century.
The 19" century saw the process of refinement in the field of novel. Jane
Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility,
Mansfield Park are the detail study of respectable English country.
Bronte sister also wrote novel on English society. Sir Walter Scott
inaugurated the historical novel. He gave romantic feeling and picture
detail in his novels Waverly, Old Mortality, and Ivanhoe. With Charles
Dickens novel enters a new phase in history. He was the first to evolve a
more complex plot. His novels are Great Expectations, David
Copperfield etc. Thackeray excelled the novel of ideas in which,; plot was
subordinated to the philosophy of life. For example Vanity Fair shows the
follies of the society, George Elliot widened the scope of novel to include
philosophical dissertations on current topics on religion and politics.
In the latter 19th century George Meredith emerged as a satirist and
reformer. Thomas Hardy was another novelist. His characters were
farmers and peasant and gentle folk. He speaks about Wessex. His
tragic novels are The Return of the Native, the Mayor of Costerbridge,
Jude the Obscure etc. The novel took many new directions during the
century. Political and social novels were written by Charles Kingsley,
Benjamin Disraeli.

7. In the hands of Willkie Collins, Sir Henry Ride, R Haggard and R.L.
Stevenson, Henry James. H. G. Wells, John Galsworthy, Arnold
Bennett, Joseph Conrad, Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence, Virginia
Woolf and James Joyce the scope of the novel is widened. It includes
every subject matter under the sun.
Features of the Novel
 The novel is a narrative. It essentially tells a story that is narrated by one
of the characters or by an omniscient narrator. In this it differs from drama,
where the story unfolds through dialogue on the stage.
 The novel is written in prose rather than in verse.
 The novel is a work of fiction, which differentiates it from other forms of
prose such as biographies, autobiographies and histories.
 The novel is an extended prose narrative. It typically runs into several
hundred pages and covers a larger period of time, with more action and
characters than a short story.
Que. 2:- What are the factors responsible for the growth of
Victorian Novels?
Ans. :- The Victorian Age refers to the period of Queen Victoria's
reign(1837-1901) There are several factors that are responsible for the
rise of Victorian novels.
• The most prominent aspect of English life and society during the
Victorian Age was change. The rise of English middle class and their
wretched existence challenged ideas of utopianism and gave way to
pessimism and despair.
 Established doctrines of religion and belief were questioned.
 In the political sphere there were calls for reforms and democracy.
 Many people received voting rights, there was improvement in the
field of education and women became increasingly aware of their
rights and rightful place in society.
 The theories of Bentham, Darwin and Socialism influenced thinking
and public opinion. It was against such a turbulent backdrop that
Victorian literature developed.
 Victorian literature asserted that art had a moral purpose. Ideals of
democracy, civil and human rights as well as science were topics of
interest.

8.  The English novel essentially became a middle class literary art
form. It was an ideal vehicle to present a picture of life in a society
and all its aspects.
 It became a medium to provide entertainment from the realities of
everyday life.
Que. 3. Write a note on Charles Dickens?
Ans.: Charles Dickens (1812-70) was a prolific writer who wrote short stories,
plays, novels and novellas. He was known for creating remarkable characters and
for his skilful delineations of the social classes and mores of the time. He also had
an extraordinary gift for irony and caricature. Aware of the problems in society,
he often addressed these issues through his characters and their actions. Above
all, he was the great entertainer of the Victorian middle classes. His major novels
include The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, David
Copperfield, The Old Curiosity Shop, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities and
Great Expectations.
Que. 4. Write a short note on William Thackeray?
Ans.: William Makepeace Thackeray began as an artist, painter and journalist
whose early works consisted of sketches, essays, satires and various humorous
and descriptive writings. He had a discerning eye to social pretension and
hypocrisy. His work illustrated the ironies of social success and sketched the
follies and vanities of high society. The Lucky of Barry Lyndon (1844) focuses
on the events surrounding a scoundrel aspiring to a place in high society, and the
hypocrisy, vanity and snobbery which lies behind the mask of social stature.
These were recurring themes in his novels including Vanity Fair for which he is
best known.
Other notable novels by him include Pendennis, The Newcomes, which was a
critical portrayal of marriage, The Adventures of Philip, a semi-autobiographical
novel, and The History of Henry Esmond. Thackeray was ranked second only to
Charles Dickens during the Victorian era but is now mostly remembered for
Vanity Fair.

9. Que. 5: Write a short note on Bronte Sisters.
Ans.: Emily and Charlotte Bronte were both novelists, Charlotte was the eldest
of the three Bronte sisters. A poet, she also wrote four novels, one of which was
unfinished. Charlotte published her works under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Her
published novel Jane Eyre brought her fame and critical appreciation. The novel
has a highly charged narrative full of passion and melodrama. Her novels Shirley,
Villette, and The Professor are all varied accounts of her own 'emotional history
and express her desire for self-reliance and independence.
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, written under the name Ellis Bell, is her first
and only novel. It was met with mixed reviews when first published because of
its stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty and the unromantic behaviour
of its central characters. The latter went against all Victorian ideas of accepted
behaviour. Its core theme is the enduring love between the heroine Catherine
Earnshaw and her father's adopted son Heathcliff, and the book explores the
destructive results this has on the lives of everyone around them. The novel has
no parallel in English literature.
Que. 6: Write a short note on George Eliot
Ans.: George Eliot (Marian Evans), is one of the prominent writers of the
Victorian era. Her works resonate with the artistic and intellectual concerns of the
age and address the ambiguities and contradictions of Victorian society. She is
the author of seven novels of which the most prominent are Adam Bede, The Mill
on the Floss, Silas Marner and Middlemarch. Her books were praised for the
manner in which they depicted rural life. She was the first novelist to focus on
character rather than incident, and on spiritual rather than physical drama. A
recurring theme in her works is the moral dilemma women face in a patriarchal
society, and the limitations imposed on them by lack of educational, professional
and economic opportunities is explored in The Mill on the Floss. Her works were
also praised by her contemporaries for their realism, humour and honest depiction
of childhood.
Que. 7. Write a note on Thomas Hardy.
Ans. : Thomas Hardy is a renowned figure in literary history. He is a prolific
poet and novelist, he wrote fourteen novels, three volume short stories and several
significant poems between 1871 and 1897. From1898 until his death in 1928,
Hardy published eight volumes of poetry and, between 1903-08, published The
Dynasts, a huge poetic drama in three parts, nineteen acts and one hundred and
thirty scenes set against the Napoleonic Wars. He began his literary career as a
poet and later took to writing fiction to support himself financially. His first novel
The Poor Man and the Lady (1867) was rejected by his publishers. After
persistent efforts his novel Desperate Remedies was published. This was
followed by Under The Greenwood Tree in which he first drew upon with skill
and authenticity the characters and life of rural England. This was to become the

10. background for almost all his novels His stories portray a continuous interplay
between nature, civilisation and human character. He excelled in his depiction of
simple, rustic people. He tasted success with the publication of Far From the
Madding Crowd (1874) and over the next ten years published ten other novels,
many of them filled with memorable characters and extraordinary descriptive
passages The Return of the Native. The Mayor of Casterbridge, which was
considered to be his masterpiece. The Woodlanders, Tess of the d'Urbervilles
and Jude the Obscure are his most enduring works of fiction.
Que. 8. Write a note on Stevenson and Rudyard Kipling.
Ans. :Robert Louis Stevenson was a talented Scottish writer of considerable
originality. His body of work is remarkable for covering a wide range of genres:
essays, travel writing, short stories, novels, poetry, plays, biographies and even
music. His stories were carefully constructed and neatly phrased. His fascination
for travel and adventure is evident in novels like Treasure Island, The Beach of
Falesa, The Ebb-Tide, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Rudyard Kipling wrote poetry, short stories and novels. He is chiefly
remembered for his tales and poems of British India and stories for children. His
novels are observations of the quirky anomalies of British Raj during its relatively
peaceful and prosperous period. His important works of fiction include The
Jungle Book, Just So Stories, Kim, Captains Courageous and short story
collections such as Plain Tales from the Hills and The Phantom 'Rickshaw and
Other Tales.
…………………………..The End……………………