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The term for the novel in the most European languages is roman, which is derived from romance.
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The English name for the form is derived from Italian novella, literally, “a little new thing”, which is a short tale in prose. In 14th century Italy there were such tales, for example Boccaccio’s Decameron. Now novela means novellete, a middle length prose, for example Heart of Darkness by Conrad, Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
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Its magnitude permits a greater variety of characters, greater complication of plot ampler development of mileu, and more sustained exploration of character and motives than do the shorter, more concentrated modes.
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Contains over 50,000 words or 120 pages and may have any length
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May have more than one plot or storylines and many characters
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The early novels were Elizabethan prose fiction and French heroic romances about noble characters.
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Came into prominence at the end of 18th Century when growth of mass literacy, pace of middle class readers and money to buy books. It dominated the Victorian era (1837-1901).
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The early Victorian novels were concerned with complex, middle class characters strugling with their morality and circumstances.
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Pamela, a series of fictional letters written in 1741 by Samuel Richardson, is considered to be the first English novel.
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Early novels include Robinson Crusoe (1719), Mill Flanders (1722) by Daniel Defoe, although the characters are not well developed to be considered as full fledged novels.
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Early novelist Jane Austen is considered the best early novelist who wrote Pride and Prejudice (1812) and Emma (1816)
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Walter Scott made his three volume novels available to purchase in monthly installment.
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Notable Victorian novelists: Charles Dickens wrote A Christian Carol (1843), Lewis Carroll (Charles Ludwidge Dodgson) wrote Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland (1864) and Through The Looking Glass (1871)
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Modern novel deals with different themes like: The Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, Religious questions, communism and socolism. Famous modern novelists are: Virginia Woolf who wrote To the Light House (1927), Irish novelist James Joyce wrote Ulysses (1921), German novelist and journalist Erich maria Remarque wrote the famous anti war novel: All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), American author William Faulkner’s The Sound and Fury (1929)
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Post modern novel depicted magic realism, metafiction, graphic novels. they include The Colour Purple (1982) by Alice Walker, In Cold Blood (1966) by Truman Capote; Roots (1976) by Alex Haley, Fear of Flying (1973) by Erica Jong, A Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
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Types of novel:
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Prose Romance
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Picaresque Narrative
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Novel of Incident
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Novel of Character
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Psychological Novel
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Epistolary Novel
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Realistic Novel
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Novel of Manners
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Gothic Novel
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Domestic Novel
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Regional Novel
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Prophetic Novel
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Travelogues
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Bildungsroman and Erziehungsroman
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Kunstlerroman
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Social novel/Sociological novel
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Documentary fiction/Literature of facts
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Regional novel
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Involuted novels
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Antinovel
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New Novel (nouveau roman)
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Metafiction/surfiction
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fabulation
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