Everything you need to understand or teach
English novel.
Products may contain comprehensive summaries, analysis, notes, articles, essays,
lesson plans and more. See below for details on what is included.
In the following excerpt, first published in 1899 and reprinted in 1923, Cross summarizes the course of the English novel from its roots in the seventeenth century—in the French romance, religi...
Read more
In the following excerpt, first published in 1900 and reprinted in 1902, Stoddard proposes a law of development that he believes is applicable to any literary form: "the depiction of the extern...
Read more
In the following essay, Warner charts the novel's progress from "scandalous" newcomer on the literary landscape to a serious, legitimate form sanctioned by the efforts of such key...
Read more
In the essay that follows, Backscheider examines some methods of influencing other people, particularly men, and bringing about change that female authors of early novels gave to their female characte...
Read more
In the essay below, Backscheider examines ways in which women novelists responded to popular conceptions about their sex, some choosing to rebel against the demand for well-mannered, sentimental works...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Todd surveys the primary female novelists of the genre's early development, as well as the major styles adopted by those pioneers.
Ever since Caxton founded his printi...
Read more
In the following essay, Davis argues that early novelists put forth concepts of fiction that implicitly sought to disarm a public that paradoxically both demanded fiction and looked down upon "...
Read more
Critical Essay by Wilbur L. Cross
