First published in 1927, E. M. Forster's "Aspects of the Novel" compiles a series of lectures given to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge in that same year. By utilizing examples from other classic works Forster puts forward a standard theory on the writing of fictional prose. The book takes turns tackling the issues of story and plot, character, fantasy, prophecy, pattern and rhythm in the writing of novels; the elements which Forster...

Patrick Parrinder's new history of the English novel from its beginnings to the present day traces the form's distinctive and often subversive reflection of national identity across the centuries. From the early stories of rogues and criminals to present-day novels of immigration, fiction has played a major part in defining our ideas of England and Englishness. Nation and Novel provides both a comprehensive survey and also a new interpretation of...