The Realist Novel

The Realist Novel
The nineteenth-century realist novel is one of the most important and
accessible literary genres. In The Realist Novel the student is guided
through the fundamentals of this enduring literary form. By using a
carefully selected group of classic novels (Pride and Prejudice, Great
Expectations, Fathers and Sons, and Jane Eyre), the authors provide a
lively examination of the themes and forms of realist novels of the
period. They suggest that some writers, such as Charlotte Brontë,
challenged the genre’s mainstream characteristics to great and lasting
effect.
A selection of key critical texts (including extracts from the work of Ian
Watt, Arnold Kettle, Marilyn Butler, Edward Said and Mikhail Bakhtin) is
included. The discussion of these critical texts will develop the reader’s
understanding of the issues raised, and show the origins of current
debates about the novel.
The emphasis throughout is upon practice, not theory, and each chapter
offers exercises in reading and studying fiction.
Dennis Walder is Professor of Literature at the Open University
A210 Approaching Literature is based on a series of three volumes.
The complete series is:
The Realist Novel
Romantic Writings
Shakespeare and the Canon