The genre of the novel, now the dominant literary form, emerged and gained popularity in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Some say Aphra Behn was the first English novelist, some say Daniel Defoe. We’ll look at both, along with their descendants. Along the way, we’ll also consider the connections between the novel and the new science, romance, travel literature, and family politics. Students will take two take-home examinations, write a term paper, and write and present to the class a short paper on a critical article and a short paper on one of our readings.

Texts: William Congreve, Incognita (in course packet); Aphra Behn, The Unfortunate Happy Lady (in course packet) and Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave (Norton); Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (Norton); Samuel Richardson, Pamela (Penguin); Henry Fielding, Tom Jones (Penguin); and Frances Burney, Evelina (Oxford).

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