English and drama

The Novel

Module code: Q3314
Level 5
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture
Assessment modes: Coursework, Take away paper

On this module, you’ll explore the history and theory of the novel in English from 1700 to 1900. Authors you'll study (among others) include:

• Daniel Defoe
• Samuel Richardson
• Mary Prince
• Aphra Behn
• Jane Austen
• George Eliot.

You’ll explore major formal, historical, and theoretical questions posed by the novel, including key ideas in narrative theory, the relationship between the novel and modernity and why the novel is often viewed as a central form for representing social life.

Module learning outcomes

• Display familiarity with a range of novels in English from the period 1700-1900
• Analyse novels from both historical and formal perspectives
• Assess the relationship between individual novels and the wider history of the novel