Two Centuries of the English Novel (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Two Centuries of the English Novel<br><br>Histories of the English novel have not been infrequent during the last few decades, and from the other side of the Atlantic have come many books to explain the theory, if such there be, of prose-fiction. In the following pages I have attempted to avoid doctrinal criticism, in the belief that the novel is not a subject of constitutional government nor the slave of precedent. But every art has its legitimate kingdom, the present is always inclusive of the past, and the ideas underlying these chapters on the development of English novel-writing are, I hope, consistent, if not dogmatic. Imaginative writing will, whether consciously or unconsciously, reflect something of the past, and something of contemporary life and thought, and I have tried to draw a visible thread of connection through the divisions of this book.<br><br>The period covered, from Defoe to the present day, is wide, and I have attempted to name all writers - exclusive, with one or two exceptions, of living authors - of the first and second order who fall within the limits of my time.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.