ABSTRACT

Since World War II critics have been predicting the decline of the novel. This book argues that the novel is not dead. Looking at American and English fiction it claims that the novel can not only change the possibilities of art, but also contribute to awareness of life's possibilities.

chapter One|36 pages

Background to Catastrophe

chapter Two|30 pages

An Experiment in Definition

chapter Three|32 pages

Death, Manners, and Ideas

chapter Four|36 pages

The two Naturalisms

chapter Five|35 pages

Tradition and the Novel: England

chapter Six|34 pages

Tradition and the Novel: America

chapter Seven|34 pages

War and Politics

chapter Eight|30 pages

The Novel As Obsession

chapter Nine|34 pages

Allegory and Satire

chapter Ten|12 pages

The Unwithered Branch