Autobiography of Anthony Trollope eBook

language—­which would give to his conversation an air of pedantry, and the slovenly inaccuracy of ordinary talkers, which if closely followed would offend by an appearance of grimace—­as to produce upon the ear of his readers a sense of reality.  If he be quite real he will seem to attempt to be funny.  If he be quite correct he will seem to be unreal.  And above all, let the speeches be short.  No character should utter much above a dozen words at a breath,—­unless the writer can justify to himself a longer flood of speech by the specialty of the occasion.

In all this human nature must be the novel-writer’s guide.  No doubt effective novels have been written in which human nature has been set at defiance.  I might name Caleb Williams as one and Adam Blair as another.  But the exceptions are not more than enough to prove the rule.  But in following human nature he must remember that he does so with a pen in his hand, and that the reader who will appreciate human nature will also demand artistic ability and literary aptitude.

The young novelist will probably ask, or more probably bethink himself how he is to acquire that knowledge of human nature which will tell him with accuracy what men and women would say in this or that position.  He must acquire it as the compositor, who is to print his words, has learned the art of distributing his type—­by constant and intelligent practice.  Unless it be given to him to listen and to observe,—­so to carry away, as it were, the manners of people in his memory as to be able to say to himself with assurance that these words might have been said in a given position, and that those other words could not have been said,—­I do not think that in these days he can succeed as a novelist.

And then let him beware of creating tedium!  Who has not felt the charm of a spoken story up to a certain point, and then suddenly become aware that it has become too long and is the reverse of charming.  It is not only that the entire book may have this fault, but that this fault may occur in chapters, in passages, in pages, in paragraphs.  I know no guard against this so likely to be effective as the feeling of the writer himself.  When once the sense that the thing is becoming long has grown upon him, he may be sure that it will grow upon his readers.  I see the smile of some who will declare to themselves that the words of a writer will never be tedious to himself.  Of the writer of whom this may be truly said, it may be said with equal truth that he will always be tedious to his reader.

CHAPTER XIII

ON ENGLISH NOVELISTS OF THE PRESENT DAY

In this chapter I will venture to name a few successful novelists of my own time, with whose works I am acquainted; and will endeavour to point whence their success has come, and why they have failed when there has been failure.