The English Novel: An Introduction

by Terry Eagleton

Written by one of the world's leading literary theorists, this book provides a wide-ranging, accessible and humorous introduction to the English novel from Daniel Defoe to the present day.

Covers the works of major authors, including Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson, Laurence Sterne, Walter Scott, Jane Austen, the Brontes, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence and James Joyce.

Distils the essentials of the theory of the novel.

Follows the model of Eagleton's hugely popular Literary Theory: An Introduction (Second Edition, 1996).

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Literature, Criticism, Theory, Academic, Reference

376 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2004

About the author

Widely regarded as England's most influential living literary critic & theorist, Dr. Terry Eagleton currently serves as Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster and as Visiting Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He was Thomas Warton Prof. of English Literature at the University of Oxford ('92-01) & John Edward Taylor Professor of English Literature at the University of Manchester 'til '08. He returned to the University of Notre Dame in the Autumn '09 semester as Distinguished Visitor in the English Department.

He's written over 40 books, including Literary Theory: An Introduction ('83); The Ideology of the Aesthetic ('90) & The Illusions of Postmodernism ('96).
He delivered Yale's '08 Terry Lectures and gave a Gifford Lecture in 3/10, titled The God Debate.

Reviews

[Shashank · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it was called a Marxist theory of the English novel, I might give it 3 stars. But since it declarers itself a general history of the English[British/Irish] novel, it was continuously disappointing.

Terry Eagleton's insights are pretty much exhausted in the first 50 pages, after which it's simply a repetitive and shallow reduction of writers to social forces.

Thus for example the socially reductive reading [most of which is a lot more telling of Terry Eagleton's views then anything to do with the novelists] of novelists could as eaily apply to 100's of other writers. As far as what sets a particular writer apart from all those other writers, or why his or her work is worthy of our attention/appreciation Eagleton has nothing much to say.

alas.... I like Eagleton's style, but I think I'll stick to his books on theory and culture. He doesn't seem to have much real sympathy for literature or art. Odd considering he is often called[including by himself] a literary critic.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Alienation is the condition in which men and women fail to recognize the objective world as their own subjective creation. Yet the very act of writing a novel offers an alternative to this condition, since a novel’s ‘objective’ vision of the world is one rooted in the subjectivity of its author. The act of writing crosses the border between subjective and objective. The novel is one of the few objects in a reified society which manifests in its every objective detail the subjective freedom in which it was born. In this sense, its very existence can be seen as an imaginary solution to the social problems which it poses.”

[Burcu]

This book has proven a helpful short-cut in preparing my 'introduction to the novel' course, especially on books and writers that I haven't dealt with before. Its general introduction is a rather good one as well.

Note to self, chapters:
1- What is a novel?
2- Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift
3- Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson
4- Laurence Sterne
5- Walter Scott and Jane Austen
6- The Brontes
7- Charles Dickens
8- George Eliot
9- Thomas Hardy
10- Henry James
11- Joseph Conrad
12- DH Lawrence
13- James Joyce
14- Virginia Woolf
Postcript - After the Wake

[Bookthesp1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I went to university to do a History Degree in 1984, a compulsory preliminary dip into English literature ( not studied at A Level) saw almost everyone ( apart from me) familiar with Terry Eagletons book, Literary Theory. I felt all at sea, and defined imposter syndrome before it was a thing. I am still playing catch up now as this volume on the English Novel was published 20 years ago though its myriad ideas and verve are timeless.
Eagleton belies the introduction tag by taking no prisoners - there are no patronising summaries or in a nutshell simplicities ( Eagletons nutshells are huge nuclear overloaded behemoth grenades) but complex ideas and debate opened up and, yes, exploded. Keep up appears to be the mantra.
He defines the novel and theoretical approaches for sure and trots through early exponents ( Defoe, Swift, Fielding et al. )
Then it’s the obvious big guns. Austen is cleverly twinned with Walter Scott the latter historicising beyond Austen’s mostly contextless prose. The chapters that standout for me are ones where Eagleton dumps any reticence about the chosen author and soars through his prose with unrelenting brilliance. Dickens is studied in the context of him being a writer of urban city based stories. The is some fabulous context about people moving from the countryside having to literally retune ( completely relearn) they’re senses of smell or hearing or sight ; indeed, their whole state of being such was the changes that city dwelling brought - reflected in the style of Dickens prose- a big dramatic baroque operatic intensity on a gritty and grotty city foundation of dustheaps; rookeries and people; lots of people. Other best chapters for me were the ones on the Brontes; Hardy; Conrad and Joyce. Eagleton is particularly good on Irishness and what that means for the novel as a form. Post modernism is somewhat dismissed but modernism is explored well through Joyce though hardly mentioned at all in relation to Woolf. The only weakness of the book was a final postscript chapter attempting to comment on post ww2 novels to see if any novelist had been up to the task of moving the form on. No British seemingly thought Eagleton singled out Angela carter as a possible. The notes were brief - he relied heavily on a Raymond Williams survey to kick start his thinking but I wonder what else he had read. Still, this was a fabulous read even if it required care and concentration and occasional re reading . Eagleton is always stimulating and rigorous with humour as well . Recommend but don’t expect any safety net - this is a demanding but hugely rewarding read.

[Beatrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

With so many literary critics out there, it's hard to offer anything new, is it?
Well, Terry Eagleton does exactly that. I like to say Eagleton is a breath of fresh air in the literary criticism.
With each chapter he makes us question and observe things from another perspective.

[Michael Arnold · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was alright. There were a lot of great insights into some books, I'll admit I didn't read every word of it - but and may have skipped more than a few of the paragraphs talking about books I've not read yet. I feel this is like a pool you can dip in to more than a book you read cover to cover anyway. The introduction was highly theoretical, and then when Eagleton goes on to talk about writers and their works it becomes much easier to read - just it has an ideological slant some people may not care for. I suppose that's a big plus, and a big minus of this book.

[Doug Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as an academic text is concerned, this was really entertaining. It was full of humor and pop culture references that you were not expecting. And none of the Marxist theory that you expect from Eagleton was present. It was just an all together good book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I like Terry Eagleton.

[Nazlı · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how many times I have cited this book in the past month. Incredibly enlightening for someone like me, especially when she is in deep research for endless amount of papers. One ends, and I begin another, and Eagleton comes to my aid. The author-specific chapters and their focus on their sociohistorical relevance alongside the literary one is incredibly informing and thought provoking. Is it weird that I find a theoretical work enjoyable?

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non è stata una lettura semplice. L'autore si sofferma per pagine interminabili sul contesto sociale in cui operarono i vari scrittori, riservando poi troppo poco spazio alla loro vita e alle loro opere. Mi sembra anche semplicistico ridurre la produzione letteraria a un mero specchio dell'ambiente storico-sociale dell'autore, quando i fattori in gioco sono invece molteplici.

[The Half-blood Reader]

College reads: I only read chapters/sections relevant to my studies, hence the dnf

[William Gosline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book as its name implies is an introduction to the English Novel, specifically the canonical British writers with whom the literary establishment is concerned. Eagleton is an erudite and prolific scholar and his ability to manage the sweep and scope of the novel over the last two centuries is no less than remarkable. Eagleton's book focuses on the writers and not individual works. He does not shy away from psychological, political or social analyses of these writers, and their relationship to their epoch. He also is not scared to levy stiff censure on some of the more opprobrious facets of these colorful individuals, although even when calling the libertarian/right wing writers out (Pound, Eliot, Lawrence, to name a few) he is not without pity, not throwing out, as it were, the baby with the bath water. He makes note of their shameful politics while celebrating their literary accomplishments.

In reading the introduction I was excited to find historical explanations of some of the terms that were liberally used at the June 2015 residency: those nebulous, monosyllabic terms that most aspiring writers have heard of but which often elude simply definition. In recounting the changes the novel has gone through as a social and historical construct, Eagleton elucidates the development of some now commonplace conventions of craft.

[Sadia Mansoor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book for everyone http://www.hamhameh.org/wp-content/up...