At a Glance
Novel: References & Edit History
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Additional Reading
The following works deal in general terms with the readerâs approach to the novel: Walter Allen, Reading a Novel, rev. ed. (1963); Van Meter Ames, Aesthetics of the Novel (1928, reprinted 1966); Cleanth Brooks and R.P. Warren (eds.), Understanding Fiction, 3rd. ed. (1979); Alexander Comfort, The Novel and Our Time (1948); Pelham Edgar, The Art of the Novel (1933, reprinted 1966); Wilson Follett, The Modern Novel: A Study of the Purpose and Meaning of Fiction, rev. ed. (1923); E.M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel (1927, many reprintings); Percy Lubbock, The Craft of Fiction, new ed. (1957).
The following are concerned with the problems of writing fiction and are all the work of novelists: Phyllis Bentley, Some Observations on the Art of Narrative (1946); Conradâs Prefaces to His Works, with an essay by Edward Garnett (1937); Henry James, The Art of Fiction and Other Essays, ed. by Morris Roberts (1948), and The Art of the Novel, introduction by R.P. Blackmur (1934); Edith Wharton, The Writing of Fiction (1925); Thomas Wolfe, The Story of a Novel (1936).
The various elements of the novel are dealt with in the following: Bonamy Dobree, Modern Prose Style, 2nd ed. (1964); Maren Elwood, Characters Make Your Story (1942); Manuel Komroff, How to Write a Novel (1950); W. Van OâConnor (ed.), Forms of Modern Fiction (1948); George G. Williams (ed.), Readings for Creative Writers (1938).
The following studies deal with the style and philosophy of the novel in the wider sense: David Daiches, The Novel and the Modern World, rev. ed. (1960); Agnes Hansen, Twentieth Century Forces in European Fiction (1934); Alfred Kazin, On Native Grounds (1942); Y. Krikorian (ed.), Naturalism and the Human Spirit (1944); George Lukacs, Studies in European Realism (1950), and The Historical Novel (1962); H.J. Muller, Modern Fiction (1937); and Masâud Zavarzadeh, The Mythopoeic Reality: The Postwar American Nonfiction Novel (1976).
Article Contributors
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- Anthony Burgess
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Michael Levy
Michael Levy was political science editor (2000-06), executive editor (2006-11), editor of Britannica Blog (2010-11), and director of product content & curriculum (2011-12) at Encyclopaedia Britannica. He subsequently became director of content for Elevate, a brain-training app for mobile devices.
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media added. | Oct 30, 2026 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Oct 21, 2026 | ||
| Modified link of Web site: Gresham College - The Mysteries of Writing: Novels and Poetry - An introduction by professor Belinda Jack. | Jul 27, 2026 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 12, 2025 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 03, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Gresham College - The Mysteries of Writing: Novels and Poetry - An introduction by professor Belinda Jack. | Nov 24, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: University of Babylon - Novel (PDF). | Sep 20, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: UC Research Repository - What Is The Novel? The Fundamental Concepts of a Literary Phenomenon (PDF). | May 16, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 21, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Pressbooks - Storytelling - The Rise of the Novel. | Feb 06, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts - Novel as an Epic. | Oct 25, 2024 | ||
| Added media. | May 23, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Humanities LibreTexts - Chapters - Novel. | Dec 29, 2023 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Nov 06, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: The British Library - The rise of the novel. | Jul 03, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Dec 12, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Academia - Understanding novel as a major form of Literature. | Aug 13, 2022 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Nov 05, 2020 | ||
| Add new Web site: Literary Devices - Novel. | Nov 11, 2019 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Jul 05, 2018 | ||
| Changed "Maksim Gorky" to "Maxim Gorky." | Mar 10, 2017 | ||
| Publication date of In Cold Blood changed from 1966 to 1965. | Aug 12, 2016 | ||
| Lowercased "bildungsroman." | Aug 01, 2014 | ||
| Article revised to remove dated language. | Aug 01, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Novel. | Feb 10, 2014 | ||
| Media added. | May 25, 2010 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jun 23, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Brooklyn College - The Novel. | Jan 04, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | May 07, 2007 | ||
| Article revised. | Jun 08, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Aug 25, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Oct 18, 1999 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |
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