E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel

Peter Childs (Newman University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Newman University), Louise McDonald (Newman University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1927

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)
- Essay Collection

Resources

A series of Clark Lectures given at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the year after T. S. Eliot had delivered them, Aspects of the Novel (1927) was written after Forster had finished with novel writing. It is an idiosyncratic survey of fiction from Defoe to Joyce. The lectures were delivered between January and March 1927 and were less academic expositions than one author's perspective on literary history, style and form. One attendee, F. R. Leavis, found them “intellectually null”, but they were a great success. On the strength of the lectures, King's College offered Forster a three-year fellowship, which he accepted.

Forster defines the novel as any work of prose fiction, and he discusses it in terms of character, …

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307 words

Citation: Childs, Peter. "Aspects of the Novel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6532, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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