Studying the Novel

This new edition of Studying the Novel is markedly the product of a life time of teaching and sustained reflection on the novel. It takes the reader from the basics of character, action, plot through to recent developments in critical approaches to the novel – narratological, textual, contextual, ideological; and from the ancestors of the novel through to world literature via computer games, interactive fiction and hypertext fiction. For this new edition, Hawthorn has added a new chapter on popular fiction (including children’s fiction and the graphic novel) and new sections on the novel and disability and the novel and apartheid. Studying the Novel is written with Hawthorn’s usual clarity and intelligence: it manages to provide helpful guidance for those just starting into the serious study of the novel (including ‘How to take Notes’ and ‘Using Critics’), while remaining constantly thought-provoking for the more experienced student of fiction. It is appropriately aware of its own imagined reader, and richly furnished with a range of illustrative fictional examples. It is essential reading for anybody setting out to think critically about the novel, and the ‘topics for discussion’ after each chapter make this a very useful teaching tool. * Robert Hampson, University of London, UK *
An outstanding overview of key issues in prose fiction, Studying the Novel covers a wide range of technical information with an approachable blend of clarity, sophistication, and concision. Examples from across centuries and cultures include important canonical works along with an expanded presentation of voices and concepts in World Literature and popular genres. Hawthorn’s efficient survey of historical, formal, and critical approaches is especially useful for teaching, and the material on versions, adaptations, and translations, as well as the challenges and opportunities of digital media, provide students with a lexicon to articulate the impact of shifting generic grounds. This is a teaching resource I’ll be turning to time and again. * Jana M. Giles, University of Louisiana at Monroe, USA *