ENGLAND: 1700-1750

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION --> rise of the middle-class. People leave rural areas to go to towns.Britain starts to be the world's leading naval and colonial power.

THE RISE OF THE NOVEL

During the 18th century there was the rise of the novel, but before that there was the romance. The romance represent fantastic story, unreal life, magic and mythical characters and the historical events. The novel represent every day real life, and talks about the story of rising middle-class men/wome who become the new heroes of the society. They try to work in a hostile and difficult world based on competition and money This ethics was influenced by the Puritan ideology (work’s ethic) and by the industrial revolution.

TYPES OF THE NOVEL

There are three forms:1- epistolary novel (Richarson): a new way to communicate . It was written to teach how write letters and how to behave. 2- diary form (Defoe):first written by sailors, to tell their travel, and merchants, to keep the double entry, day to day. 3- chronical form (Defoe): a journal about what happenes describing the situation

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was an English trader, writer, journalist and spy. He is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, in particular he used the diary and the chronical form. One of his most important novels is “Robison Crusoe”, which is a story about a sailor who shipwrecked on a desert island. He stayed there for more than 20 years, and to survive he counted the days, the tools, the animals and everything was countable.At the end he was saved by an English ship and he returned to England.

DANIEL DEFOE

A Journal of the Plague Year

Fictionalized account of one man's experiences when the Great Plague struck the city of London. The book is told chronologically and it is very important because it makes you understand the social conditions of the period.The disease is identified as the plague but actually they are different types of diseases that manifest different symptoms.

by Daniel Defoe

Picaresque Novel

The Picaresque Novel is a genre of prose fiction which talks about the adventures of a roguish hero of a low social class. Picaresque novels tipically adopt a realistic style, with elements of comedy and satire. This style of novel starded in 16° century in Spain and flourished in Europe during the 17° and 18° centuries.

HENRY FIELDING

Henry Fielding (1707-1754) was an English novelist and dramatist known for his humour and satirical prowess. He wrote Shamela, Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones . Shamela and Joseph Andrews are parodies of Pamela, written by Richardson.

In Tom Jones the protagonist is Tom Jones, a foundling that was grown by  MrsDeborah Wilkins, the Squire Allworthy’sHousekeeper. He loves Sophia, the neighbour’s daughter. He would like to marryher, but her father doesn't want to give his Daughter to a foundling.Tom decides to escape from London because he don't like his life.During the way, he goes to many pub and meets many girls that try to seduce him.He doesn't resiste to this advance and betrayes many times Sophia.He goes in to prison because he is accused for a murder but he succeeds to escape.At the end Tom Jones returns home and he finds that Allworthy is his uncle.So Tom marries Sophia and becomes rich.

JONATHAN SWIFT

Jonathan Swift was an anglo-irish writer, poet, satirist and cleric.He studied at the Trinity College and had an excellent education.When he finished the college he wrote «A Tale of a Tub» and «The Battle of the Books», after a period of political commitemet he pubblished «The Journal to Stella»: a series of letters to his beloved.In London he pubblished: «Travels into several remote parts of the wolrd» (also knowns as «Gulliver’s travels»), «First a Surgeon», «A Modest Propose». He influenced James Joyce and T.S. Eliot in the XX century and, overall, all the utopian and anti-utopian authors like George Orwell (1984 and Animal Farm)

SAMUEL RICHARDSON

Pamela. In this novel he explored the various complexities of the title character’s life, and the letters allow the reader to witness

her develop and progress over time. The novel was an experiment, but it allowed Richardson to create

a complex heroine through a series of her letters. When Richardson wrote Clarissa, he had more experience in the form

and expanded the letter writing to four different correspondents, which created a complex sistem of characters

encouraging each other to grow and develop over time. t it allowed Richardson to create a complex heroine through a series of her

letters. When Richardson wrote Clarissa, he had more experience in the

form and expanded the letter writing to four different correspondents, which created a complex sistem of characters

encouraging each other to grow and develop over time.

Tobias George Smollet

 (1721 –71)

Scottish poet and author of many action novels. And picaresque novels, for example

 The Adventures of Roderick Random  The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle.Tobias also experienced the large

influence of foreign writers in the English novel, and translated many picaresque

novels from Spanish to English. He influenced later novelists such

as George Orwell.