19th-Century English Novel: Key Authors & Context
Gothic Novel and 19th-Century Transition
The Gothic novel represented a movement away from classical order, towards imagination and feeling. Key characteristics include:
- Gothic
- Barbarous
- Medieval
- Supernatural
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus is a prime example.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen, daughter of the rector of Steventon (Hampshire), lived an intimate life with family and close friends. She bridged the gap between the 18th and 19th centuries with her novels of manners, often ignoring major domestic and foreign events.
The Victorian Age: The Golden Age of English Fiction
The Victorian Age is considered the longest and greatest period in English fiction. Notable authors include:
- Dickens
- The Brontë sisters
- Elizabeth Gaskell
- George Eliot
- Thackeray
- Hardy
Their works are still widely read and popular, and they have had a lasting influence, inspiring the neo-Victorian movement.
Social and Cultural Context
Several social and cultural conditions contributed to the production of novels:
- Population growth, especially urban growth, during the Industrial Revolution.
- Rise of the middle and working classes.
- Increased social mobility.
- Overseas trade and an improved economy from the mid-19th century onwards.
- Political changes, including the Reform Bill of 1832, Chartism, and Marx’s publication of Das Kapital (1867).
Conditions for Book Production and Trade
- Circulating and public libraries.
- “Three-decker” novels.
- Monthly part novels.
- Serial publications in magazines like Blackwood’s Edinburgh, Cornhill Magazine, Household Words, and All the Year Round.
- “Railway” reprints.
These conditions influenced novelists’ decisions, leading to expanded stories and moments of suspense.
Influence of Essayists:
- Thomas Carlyle: Chartism.
- John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism.
Charles Dickens
Born in Portsmouth and moved to London at ten, Charles Dickens experienced hardship early in life, working at Warren’s Blacking Factory at twelve (an experience reflected in David Copperfield). He later worked as a clerk and reporter. He became the greatest Victorian novelist and edited two weekly journals: Household Words and All the Year Round. Notable works include: The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, and The Old Curiosity Shop.
The Brontë Sisters
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë were the daughters of Patrick Brontë, an Anglican minister in Haworth. They began writing as children and initially published under pseudonyms, such as Currer (Charlotte). Key works include: Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Jane Eyre.
Elizabeth Gaskell
Born in London and raised in Knutsford, Cheshire, Elizabeth Gaskell moved to Manchester upon marrying William Gaskell. She traveled extensively in Britain and Europe. Her notable works include social novels like Mary Barton (1848) and North and South (1854-55); novels of manners like Cranford and Wives and Daughters; the historical novel Sylvia’s Lovers; and a biography of Charlotte Brontë.
George Eliot
An intellectual and well-read person, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) began writing fiction in middle age. Her works include: Scenes of Clerical Life, Adam Bede, and Miss Brooke.
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was a novelist, essayist, humorist, and draughtsman. He often focused on the flight of time. His most famous work is Vanity Fair.
Thomas Hardy
Born near Dorchester into a poor family, Thomas Hardy trained as an architect at King’s College, London. In 1874, he gave up architecture to focus on writing. He was known for his observation of the natural world and his setting of “Wessex.” His works include:
- Novels of Character and Environment: Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of the Native.
- Romances and Fantasies: A Pair of Blue Eyes.
- Novels of Ingenuity.