Novel in Letters - Epistolary Fiction in the Early English Novel 1678-1740

First published in 1969, The Novel in Letters is a collection of nine novels in letters, representative of certain tendencies in narrative technique and subject-matter between 1678 and 1740. The editor shows how the narrative attitude of the letter writer, his humorous or sentimental viewpoint, give the events the flavour of personal experience. Motifs such as the arranged betrothal, or the gradual decline of an innocent girl to a common whore thus become more immediate. The increasing importance of the narrator, the use of the point-of-view technique, sentimental analysis, and a new interest in characterisation through direct or indirect self-revelation, all mark the transition from the romance to the 'realistic novel.' In the introduction, the editor traces the structure of the epistolary novel back to the sub-literary forms which it most resembles and illustrates how the novel is rooted in journalism and other forms of non-literary writing such as the genuine letter, the diary, autobiography, manuals and didactic literature. There is also an examination of the problem of differentiating between historical reality and literary fiction. This book will be of interest to students and teachers of literature.

List of contents

Preface Introduction 1. Five Love-letters from a Nun to a Cavalier (1678) 2. Captain Ayloffe's Letters (1701) 3. From a Lady to a Lady 4. A Letter from Mrs. Jane Jones (1737) 5. The Lover's Week (1718) 6. The Double Captive (1718) 7. The Constant Lovers (1731) 8. The Polite Correspondence (1740?) 9. Love-letters Between a Nobleman and his sister (1684) Select Bibliography Corrections to the Text

About the author

Natascha Wurzbach

Product details

• Authors: Natascha Wurzbach
• Assisted by: Natascha Würzbach (Editor)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2025
• EAN: 9781032422244
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3242224-4
• No. of pages: 324
• Series: Routledge Revivals
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; LITERARY CRITICISM / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Subjects & Themes / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / General, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers