An Introduction to Eighteenth-Century Fiction: Raising the Novel

The formal and expressive range of canonic eighteenth-century fiction is enourmous: between them Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett and Sterne seem to have anticipated just about every question confronting the modern novelist; and Aphra Behn even raises a number of issues overlooked by her male successors. But one might also reverse the coin: much of what is present in these writers will today seem remote and bizarre. There is, in fact, only one novelist from the 'long' eighteenth century who is not an endangered species outside the protectorates of university English departments: Jane Austen. Plenty of people read her, moreover, without the need for secondary literature. These reservations were taken into account in the writing of this book. An Introduction to Eighteenth Century Fiction is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to English fiction from Aphra Behn to Jane Austen. It deals with novel criticism, canon formation and relations between genre and gender. The second part of the book contains an extensive discussion of Richardson and Fielding, followed by paired readings of major eighteenth-century novels, juxtaposing texts by Behn and Defoe, Sterne and Smollett, Lennox and Burney among others. The various sections of the book, and even the individual chapters, may be read independently or in any order. Works are discussed in a way intended to help students who have not read them, and even engage with some who never will. The author consumes eighteenth-century fiction avidly, but has tried to write a reader-friendly survey for those who may not.

Table of Contents:
Preface PART ONE: RAISING THE NOVEL Critics and Theorists Sounding the Canon Genre and Gender Two Literary Parabolas (i): Richardson from Familiar Letters to Grandison Two Literary Parabolas (ii): Fielding from Jonathan Wild to Amelia PART TWO: FICTIONAL PERSPECTIVES FROM BEHN TO AUSTEN Behn's Oroonoko and Defoe's Moll Flanders Sterne's Tristram Shandy and Smollett's Humphry Clinker Lennox's The Female Quixote and Burney's Evelina Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho and Godwin's Caleb Williams Austen's Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park Notes Appendix A: Mrs Barbauld's The British Novelists Appendix B: The Dictionary of Literary Biography Appendix C: The Chadwyck Healey Database Bibliography Index.

About the Author :
JOHN SKINNER is Professor of English at the University of Turku, Finland. JOHN SKINNER is Professor of English at the University of Turku, Finland.