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The Origin and Development of English Novel: A Descriptive Literature

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Article · August 2019

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.4429

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International Journal of English, Literature and Social Science (IJELS) Vol-4, Issue-4, Jul – Aug 2019
https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.4429 ISSN: 2456-7620

The Origin and Development of English Novel:

A Descriptive Literature Review
Choeda
Department of Language Education, Samtse College of Education, Bhutan.
[email protected]

Abstract— Novel as a literary genre enjoyed the highest level of glory in the 18 th century. The authors namely Defoe,
Richardson, Fielding and Sterne contributed significantly to the development of English novel. They influenced the
writers who came after them. The 18 th century coincided with the industrial revolution which sign ificantly contributed
to the rise of the novel (with the invention of printing machine). The chain effects of industrial revolution improved
people’s life and living standard. The rise of the educated middle class people further increased the reading publi c
which correspondingly led to demand of novels for reading. Books such as ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Decameron’, ‘Morte d’
Arthur’ and ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ laid the foundations for the development of the novel. ‘Pamela’, ‘Joseph Andrew’s,
‘Tristram Shandy’, and ‘Robinson Crusoe’ were some of the notable books that became famous in the 18 th century.
However, novels continued to evolve in the 19 th and 20 th century giving rise to different genres or classes of novel.
Keywords— Bunyan, Defoe, Epistolary novel, Fielding, Origin of the novel, Picaresque tradition, Rise of the
middle class, Sterne.

I. INTRODUCTION 74) to write his Paradise Lost. The epics were narrative
This paper is written for undergraduate students verses telling stories of human encounters with monsters
particularly English and Literature students who may and accounts of accomplishments of heroic deeds in
have to study the historical developments of novel in battles.
general or 18th century novel or literature in particular. It After the epics came a new form of literature called
is aimed at providing overview of how the novel as genre the romances originating in France in the 12th century. It
of literature originated and gained popularity. The paper was also popularly known as chivalric romance or
starts with forerunners or antecedents of the novels to medieval romance (having flourished in the medieval
establish the context of the rise of the novel. The origin of times or medieval age between1000 AD to 1450 AD).
the novel is then traced back to the world’s oldest The scholars deviated from the tradition of epic by
literature, the epics, followed by discussion on the choosing subjects such as bravery, honour, adventure and
romances which ultimately led to birth of novel proper. courtly love with unique features of using magic, spells
The paper also describes different types of novels such as and enchantments in the romances to arouse curiosities
picaresque and epistolary which were the foundations of and interests in the readers. According to Abrams, (1995)
the novels. The last segment of the paper presents brief “Romances were first written in verse, but later in prose
summary of the different types of novels that evolved as well” (p.22). One of the notable English romance is
post 18th century. Malory’s Morte d’Arthur written in prose (in about 1470)
which accounted the legend of King Arthur and his
II. THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE NOVEL Knights of the Round Table.
Though English novel as a literary genre gained Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-4000) used both verse as
popularity in the eighteenth century, its beginning can be well as prose in The Canterbury Tales (Crompton-
traced back to 612 BC when world’s oldest literature Epic Rickett, 1995). Among the 24 stories included in The
of Gilgamesh was written. Homer, who lived in 700 or Canterbury Tales, two stories, the ‘Tale of the Melibeus’
800 BC, was the first notable poet or a literary pioneer and the ‘Parson’s Tale’ were written in prose. He had also
who wrote the famous Greek epics, The Iliad and The included a romance, The Knight’s Tale. However, it was
Odyssey. He established the tradition of epic which had Chaucer’s long poem Troilus and Criseyde (written in
particular structure and subject matter. In 900 BC Roman about 1380) which introduced new characteristics of
poet Virgil produced epic poems Beowulf and Aeneid literary tradition with the use of plot and conversations in
with the latter becoming a model for John Milton (1608- the poem. Chaucer gave “a new turn to fiction” (Roy,

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2016, para, 2) for social and religious aspect of life were who undertakes a pilgrimage from his home in the city of
portrayed in the stories unlike farfetched realities of destruction (world) to the celestial city (heaven).
romances. Coincidentally the elements of modern day novel such as
Even before Malory and Chaucer, Boccaccio (1313- settings, characters, and conflicts were used well to
1375), an Italian author had already started to write in present the journey of Christian. “The ideas of
prose in 1350. Boccaccio produced “prose tales of repentance, of faith, of resisting temptation, and of
amorous adventure, The Decameron” (Compton- Rickett, perseverance” (Kuiper, 2012, p.4) that Christian goes
1995, p. 105). That’s why, Italy is considered as the home through in the story are the elements of the modern novels
of the novel. Chaucer was influenced by Boccaccio’s such as beginning, conflict, the rise in action , fall in
style of storytelling. action and resolution. According to Bora (n.d) Bunyan’s
The popularity of the romances remained in vogue Pilgrim’s Progress “provided an important model for
till 1600 when a new literary style in the form of story-telling, with vivid characterization and recording of
burlesque came to existence. The writers wanted to mock dialogue which influenced a lot of later novelists”
and bring fun out of serious literary matter. For instance (p.4).Thus at the dawn of the eighteenth century, the
Cervantes made fun of the medieval romances by writing foundation for the development of novel as a new genre
the famous Don Quixote (1605). Unlike the original of literature was well established paving way for the rise
romances in which the knights fought with giants and of the novel.
dragons to save damsels in distress, his knight (Don Besides exploring the forerunners of the novel such
Quixote) fights with windmills which he sees as giants as epics, poetry and romances to gather overview of how
bringing laughter to the readers. Alongside the development of novel progressed until the 18th century, it
burlesques literary style came the picaresque tale which is necessary to understand the origin of the word ‘novel’
was already in fashion in Spanish literature since the itself.
anonymous publication of Lazarillo de Tolmes (1554).
The word picaresque was derived from Spanish word III. DEFINITION AND ORIGIN OF NOVEL
‘picaro’ meaning a rogue. In a picaresque tale, the main According to The Shorter Oxford Dictionary, novel is
character is a rogue or rascal who goes on an adventure “a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length in
and leads his life by his wits. The element of adventure of which characters and actions representative of real life are
the picaro influenced later novelist such as Mark Twain portrayed in a plot of more or less complexity” (cited in
and Saul Bellow who wrote Huckleberry Finn and The Rees, 1973, p.106). Another definition by an anonymous
Adventures of Augie March respectively. author states that a novel is “a piece of prose fiction of a
In 1688, a short prose work titled Oroonoko , or the reasonable length”. Both the definitions highlight the
History of the Royal Slave written by female author Aphra word ‘prose’ meaning the common or ordinary spoken
Behn (1640-89) was published. Behn was influenced by form of language without the presence of poetic rhythmic
the quest of knights in chivalric romances in which a structure. However, there are a few novels written in
knight goes in pursuit of his ladylove overcoming dangers verse as well, such as Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate
and the difficulties. Oroonoko, a prince goes on a visiting and Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegi. The other aspect
mission of his deceased army general’s daughter Imoinda of the definition is related to the length. The first
following which they fall in love. However, soon he definition points out ‘considerable length’ and second
meets with hurdles planned by his king who blocks his definition states ‘reasonable length’ to distinguish the
marriage. The story was constructed in a form of novel’s unique feature as a genre vis a vis genre of short
biography following a linear plot. Behn contributed story. The lengths of some novels are similar to the length
towards depicting the truth of life and the book was an of short stories and hence a term such as ‘novella’ is often
“attack on what she (perceived) as the moral distant used for shorter novels.
colonial problem of human slavery, degradation and The word novel is considered to have been derived
suffering” (Sanders, 1994, p.269). from the latin word novellus, Italian word novella (which
Another work of prose was produced by Behn’s meant a little new thing) and French word novelle. It was
contemporary John Bunyan (1628-1688) who published Boccaccio who first used the term novella storia (short
Pilgrim’s Progress in 1678 and The Life and Death of tale in prose) when he first experimented writing prose.
Mr. Badman in 1680. Pilgrim’s Progress was the best Boccaccio popularized the vogue of collections of novella
seller during that time for every household owned a copy with his collection of ten short stories titled Decameron in
of it. It is religious allegory telling the story of Christian fourteenth century. However, the meaning of the word

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novel meant the kind of short stories written and collected the rise of the middle class people” (para.2) who created
by Boccaccio until the 17th century. With the rise in the demand in the reading materials for they had plenty of
development of novels in the 18th century the meaning of leisure time. With manual work being done by machines,
the word novel underwent change from short tale in prose people could get a lot of free time for reading. Further
to ‘prose narrative of considerable length’ as stated by they had desires to read about “their everyday
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary. experiences” (Hasan, para.2) which prompted authors
Thus with understanding of the definition of novel, it such as Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson and Henry
is relevant to discuss what factors or situations provided Fielding to write prose fictions depicting real life
opportunities for the rise of the novel in the 18th century. experiences.
5.2 Decline of romance and drama
IV. RISE OF NOVEL IN THE 18 TH CENTURY Since romances were mainly suitable to be read by
Majority of the literary critics attribute 18th century as elite, aristocratic or noble families, it could not sustain the
the time period in which novel took its birth, subsequent readership. The common people got bored with romances
growth and development. With adequate literary for they had no relevance of any sort to them. In addition,
predecessors such as Bunyan, Behn, Chaucer, Malory, the stories themselves being centuries old were no longer
Cervantes, Boccaccio and numerous other writers of the of interest to the people. The settings in which the stories
17th century, the 18th century writers availed opportunities in the romances took place were also unrealistic.
to further experiment and produce novel as a literary Therefore, romances as a literary genre started to decline.
genre. Further the increase in literacy rate, industrial People started to take interest in the contemporary issues.
revolution, rise in the middle class and coming up of Unlike romances, the novels were written in first person
libraries created favourable situations for the rise of the (making it appear ‘more personal and recent’) with
novel. In the new form of literature namely the ‘novel’ the ordinary characters that the readers could relate with.
construct of the story departed from the romance and Decline of drama was also one factor that
attempted at verisimilitude depicting the pragmatism and promoted the rise of the novel. In the 17th century, during
morality of the middle class people. Alexander Pope’s the rule of Cromwell, theatres (which were so popular
dictum, “The proper study of mankind is men” influenced during the Elizabethan times) were banned (Shah, n.d).
the interest of the people to study human character. Thus Moreover, novel could reach vast audience when theatre
18th century novels explored human characters with the could reach only to a limited audience. When drama came
novelist creating real life characters in their novels unlike back with the restoration age, it could not establish its
giants, dragons and super human characters in the essence since novels got well established then.
romances. 5.3 Rise of the middle class
One outcome of industrial revolution was the rise
V. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED THE RISE OF of middle class. The growth in industries brought about
THE NOVEL unprecedented corresponding growth with trade and
5.1 Industrial revolution commerce. The people were increasingly becoming
One of the major factors that contributed to the rise wealthy with even poor people of lower rung being able
of the novel is the development in industries. With to raise their status. Therefore, the additional newly
machinery work could be done faster and people could attained middle class status, this group of people started
get more time for rest and leisure time during which behaving like the traditional landed gentry demanding
people resorted to reading novels. Printing press were books to read. Further, with improved living standard
available for production of multiple copies at cheaper many (both men and women) could acquire education and
rate. Even low income people could afford to buy an d be able to read. Women readers increased with greater
read books unlike in the past when only aristocrats were leisure time with the rise of middle class and it was a
the reading public. Besides variety of reading materials fashion for high status women to remain engaged in
such as newspapers, novels and magazines were made reading literature. Further the new group of middle class
easily available due to printing press. The newspapers and people did not like the traditional medieval stories of the
magazines helped develop the habit of reading which knights. According to anonymous article titled , ‘Reasons
ultimately led people to start reading novels. Some of the for the rise of the novel in the eighteenth century’ in the
novels were also published in magazines increasing the web blog Naeem Educational Organisation (NEO) the
access to novels besides the book form. According to rising middle class people demanded a new type of
Hasan (2015), the industrial revolution “paved the way to literature which conformed to their temper and taste and

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“took little interest in the exaggerated romances” (2010, knowledge in his epistolary novel Pamela or Virtue
para.4). Thus the novelist wrote about common people Rewarded published in 1740. Richardson believed that
revealing the “the psyche of the middle class” (para.4) in the novelist had dual purpose of writing novels; to inform
their novels. Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Richardson’s the readers and impart morality. The whole of the novel
Pamela, and Fielding’s Tom Jones were appealing to the of Pamela or Virtue Rewarded is the exchange of
readers. personal letters between the girl Pamela and her parents.
5.4 Mobile libraries The narrator Pamela, a servant girl employed in a rich
The start of mobile libraries facilitated the increase land owner informs her parents through a series of letters
of reading public. Reading was promoted by providing how she maintains her virtue amidst her employer’s
easy access to books with books being brought to the inappropriate advances until he proposes a marriage.
homes if people joined the mobile library as members. Richardson had been credited to have created novel of
Women readers benefited a lot since they used to stay at character by exploring the psychological development in
home and exchange books after they finish reading one Pamela. In contrast Defoe explored the physical
(Shah, n.d) from the mobile library. development of character in Robinson Crusoe. Clarissa
Though industrial revolution, decline in romance or the History of Young Lady and The History Sir Charles
and drama, rise of the middle class and mobile libraries Grandison were additional novels written by Richardson
played significant role in the rise of the novel, four in same epistolary mode. He influenced and popularized
authors namely Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, and Sterne the feature of sentimentality in English novels (Roy,
took the novel to “the highest point of glory” (Roy, 2016, 2016).
para.8). 6.3 Henry Fielding (1707-1754)
Henry Fielding was born at Sharpham Park near
VI. PIONEERS OF THE NOVEL Galstonsbury in 1707 (Compton- Rickett, 1995). He
6.1 Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) studied law. Fielding is considered as the father of
Daniel Defoe was born in London. He was a English novel. He was influenced by picaresque tradition
merchant, a manufacturer, a public official and an editor of writing. He is known for novels such as Shamela,
before becoming a writer at the age of fifty eight Joseph Andrews (1749) and Tom Jones (1742). He
(Compton-Rickett , 1995). Robinson Crusoe, his first popularized the aspect of “realism, characterization and
book was published in 1719 followed by Moll Flanders in craftsmanship” of novel (Roy, 2016, para. 8). Through his
1722. Defoe is considered to be “the first true master of novel he presented “a true and realistic picture of human
English novel” (Sanders, 1994, p.307). It was he who nature” (Kettle, 1967, p.71). Fielding’s first novel was
introduced the ‘journalistic first person narrative’ creating Shamela written as a parody to Richardson’s Pamela for
fiction to be a fact to the readers. He was the first writer he considered it to be hypocritical morality. In doing so
to have introduced the technique of realism. Despite the he popularized comic novel. He continued to mock at
story of Robinson Crusoe, the character being fictitious, Richardson’s Pamela by presenting a contrasting situation
the style of first person narration brought out the element with a young man Joseph being pursued by a rich lady in
of realism. Though the novel had no real plot but just an Joseph Andrews. Fielding thus laid foundation for comic
account of chronological sequences of events, Baker, a novels.
literary critic considered Robinson Crusoe to be the first 6.4 Laurence Sterne (1713- 1768)
modern novel. Defoe is also called as the founder of the Laurence Sterne was born in 1713 at a place called
modern novel. However, some critics have categorized Clonmel in Ireland. He graduated from Cambridge and
Defoe’s work as work of romances since the element of became a priest. Sterne’s approach to writing novels was
adventure and crime dominated. Still, later novelists who far different and unique compared to his contemporaries.
wrote autobiographical novels were influenced by He experimented writing novels in a different style rather
Defoe’s style. than the conventional method with beginning, middle and
6.2 Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) end. Rajimwale (2004) remarked that he “was different
Samuel Richardson was born in 1689 in and remote from the major novelists of his time” (p.224).
Derbyshire in London. He worked as a printer of the In his novel Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy,
Journals of the House of Commons and Law Printer to the Gentlemen (published in nine separate volumes between
King. During his youthful stage he had experiences of 1759-1767) Sterne employed autobiographical but non
writing love letter for three girls through which he linear narrative techniques by frequently skipping and
understood the ways of femininity and utilized the same jumping ahead of time and shifting back in time creating

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fragmented narration. The main character or the narrato r writers were bound to. It was an age of revolution and
Tristram Shandy is born only in volume IV. Unlike his experimentation of writing novels which promoted further
contemporaries who had definite plot and structure with experimentation and creativity giving rise to subgenres or
beginning, middle and end, Sterne’s novel had no definite different genres of novel in the post 18th century.
plot. Instead it begins in the middle, get intercepted with
devices such as digressions, humorous reflections and IX. POST 18 TH CENTURY NOVELS
deliberate blank pages kept in the middle of the story for In the 19th century which came to be known as age
the readers to fill in and respond. According to Ogana- of romantic poets or return to the nature. The romantic
Roxana (2010), Tristram Shandy does not satisfy the poets generated the idea of nature as a source of
usual expectations of how a novel should be organized inspiration besides being a teacher, guide and mother
(para.9). However, Sterne “introduced a method of unlike 18th century poets who treated nature as normal
progression by sensory suggestion and momentary reality. It was marked by ‘love of nature’, ‘love of
reaction to immediate experience” (Bora, p.8) which medieval age’ and ‘love of supernatural’ (Amin, 2012).
influenced modern writers such as Joyce and Woolf who When 18th century writers placed value on realism and
used stream of consciousness as narrative technique. rationality, the romantic writers stressed their value on
imaginations and emotions. The setting and themes of the
VII. OTHER IMPORTANT AUTHORS medieval romances were once again picked by 19th
Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) was also an century writers to create their fictional work. Castle of
influential novelist of the time. He was known for writing Otranto was the first novel to have made used of the
satire and describing the “familiar scenes, follies, foibles elements of ghost which was based on medieval romance.
and knavery of the ordinary life” (Rajimwale, 2004, So due to change in the ideology, different genres or
p.223). He also used picaresque style in his novels, The classes of novel got developed in the 19th and 20th
Adventures of Roderick Random (1748) and Gilbas century.
(1715-1735). 9.1 Novel of manners
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was known for satire Some ideas of the romantic poetry influenced the
and allegory. A tale of a Tub (1704) and Gulliver’s novels, particularly the cult of feelings known as
Travels (1726) were both allegorical novels. Swift sensibility (Rajimwale, 2004). Jane Austen (1775-1817)
introduced the use of the story of fantasy as a satire to considered sensibility in women to be revealing weakness
reveal weakness in the society through his novels. of womanhood and deplored it. She was one writer who
presented detail portrayal of how women’s behaviours
VIII. KEY FEATURES OF 18 TH CENTURY NOVELS were being determined and influenced by inner
The writers of the 18th century bought out realism. sensibility. Her novels were all centred on women
The novels were instruments to explore and represent the describing the customs, values and mores of the society
reality of the society. The authors used verisimilitude during her time. She wrote Pride and Prejudice (1796),
with books imitating the real life of the people. The use of Sense and sensibility (1797) and Mansfield Park (1814).
first person narrative technique created the element of 9.2 Historical novels
realism. Further, unlike the romances, characters in the Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) introduced historical
novels were ordinary men and women with settings novel. As per Albert (1979), Scott “added a life-giving
familiar to the readers. In addition, the focus of the force, a vitalizing energy, an insight, and a genial
protagonist was given on middle class people. The dexterity that made the historical novel an entirely new
purpose of the novel was mainly to promote virtuous species” (p.340). Rob Roy (1817) and Ivanhoe (1820)
character in people just as Richardson did. Some authors were few of the popular historical novels he had written.
such as Swift and Smollett used satire and allegory to 9.3 Chronicle novel
point out the vices in the society. The pioneer novelists Emma (1815) written by Jane Austen and Jane
contributed unique aspect of novel; Fielding popularized Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) are
epic novels, Richardson with epistolary and sentimental examples of chronicle novels for they provide narrative
novel, Defoe with realistic novel, Swift with satirical and accounts starting from their early childhood till their
philosophical novel and Sterne with experimental novel. adulthood. The events that happen in the novel are
Thus 18th century novelist gave the novelist of the connected with dates.
time fresh avenues and flexibility for writing novels 9.4 Gothic novel
without having to follow established tradition as classical

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