U N I T 2 THE NOVEL This Unit deals with the rise and history of the novel in British and American literature. A novel is a long prose narrative that describes fictional characters and events, usually in the form of a sequential story. A. THE RISE OF THE NOVEL Daniel Defoe, Anglo-Irish Jonathan Swift, Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding are generally regarded as the fathers of the English novel, though they did not constitute a literary school. It is important to remember that during the 18th century the rising number of printed items, the growth of literacy and a broadening readership led to a wider book market. There were not only journals and periodicals, but places like coffee and tea-houses or clubs which favoured public debates, so it could be said that in the early 18th century, literature became more and more a subject of educated conversation. The Glorious Revolution (1688) was a watershed: after the Stuarts attempt to create an absolutist state on the French model, there was a limited constitutional monarchy, two political parties and regular elections; so the importance of public opinion grew. The 18th century writer s primary aim was no longer to satisfy the standards of patrons and literary élite but to write in a simple way in order to be understood by the less educated new readers: middle class men and women. The new stories had to be particularly appealing to the practical-minded tradesman or manufacturer. These were among the most influential factors in the shaping of the new genre. The new ideas on the natural goodness of humans and human perfectibility, and the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan, 1651) contributed to the realization that egotism was a peculiar trait of society. As a reaction, this led to attempts to find alternative descriptions of possible models of society, and these were reflected in the novels of the time. Daniel Defoe created the first fictional world , combining fictional material with his great realism in describing places. His two most important works are Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. Jonathan Swift improved the realistic way of writing, introducing more and more details. His most famous novel is Gulliver s Travels, in which he makes a satire against English politics, showing all his hatred of mankind. Samuel Richardson was very interested in the psychological analysis of characters and brought a modernisation to the epistolary novel genre. His masterpiece Pamela or the Virtue Rewarded is a novel written as a collection of letters. Henry Fielding s lively realism, his humour and satire, his fundamental tolerance of human frailty, his eye for the comic, his narrative and his architectonic ability in plot-construction, displayed in Tom Jones, all contributed towards his excellence as a novelist. 238