trace the evolution of British novel during the nineteenth century
Answers
The primary purpose of this field is to survey the most important authors, genres, and trends in the nineteenth century British novel. As much as possible, I have attempted to define "importance" both in terms of literary canonicity and in terms of historical change. Thus, although the reading includes an in depth study of several major authors (particularly Austen and Dickens), I have organized the major field primarily around landmarks in the history of literary genres. The list will allow me to trace the development of the following genres: the Bildungsroman; the historical novel; the regional novel; the provincial novel; the gothic novel; the industrial novel; the sensation novel; the detective novel; the science fiction novel; the New Woman novel. Although all these types of novel have been definitely identified as discrete genres, either by nineteenth century readers or by recent literary criticism, I am interested in these generic divisions partly because of their evident mutability. For instance, the most canonical of all Victorian novels -Eliot's Middlemarch- might be defined as a provincial novel, a historical novel, a double Bildungsroman, or (more generally) a classic work of realism. In contrast, clear generic categories can more easily be assigned to the less canonical novels which mark a historical breakthrough (for instance, the emergence of the regional novel with Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent or of the sensation novel with Collins' The Woman in White).