Which major novelists wrote during the 19th century?

The 19th century was a transformative era for the novel, characterized by the rise of realism, the development of naturalism, and the flourishing of diverse regional traditions.

European Novelists

In France, Honoré de Balzac served as a precursor to realism, while Gustave Flaubert established the movement with masterpieces like Madame Bovary. Other notable French figures include the brothers Jules and Edmond Goncourt and the naturalist Émile Zola. In England, the Victorian era saw the prominence of Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, Benjamin Disraeli, and Charles Kingsley. Russian literature was defined by the works of Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Additionally, Hendrik Conscience is credited as the creator of the Flemish novel.123

American Novelists

American fiction in the 19th century included James Fenimore Cooper, known for his "Leatherstocking" tales, and Edgar Allan Poe, a pioneer of the detective story. Other significant authors included Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Pendleton Kennedy, William Gilmore Simms, and William Dean Howells.145