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Fifteen English Novels: An Annotated Bibliography, Robin Pounders

Honors Theses

Although novels hold a secure, unquestioned place in twentieth century culture, they have not always claimed such a position. The novel, as everything else, had to have its beginning sometime, and, for this genre, that 'sometime' was the eighteenth century.

Called for by a greater literacy rate and the increasing leisure time of a society which fostered few forms of public entertainment, the novel began as an experiment. It was conceived in the minds of imaginative artists, was tested on paper, then evaluated and revised. Variables were constantly being brought into play, modified, or enlarge, while 'tried and true' became …