Aspects of the Novel

"The renowned British novelist’s 'casual and wittily acute guidance' on reading—and writing—great fiction" —Harper’s Magazine

Renowned for such classics as A Room with a View , Howards End , and A Passage to India , E. M. Forster was one of Britain’s—and the world’s—most distinguished fiction writers, a frequent nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In this collection of lectures delivered at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1927, he takes a wide-ranging look at English-language novels—with specific examples from such masters as Dickens and Austen—discussing the elements they all have in common.

"Using a witty, informal tone and drawing on his extensive readings in French and Russian literature, Forster discusses his ideas in reference to such figures as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Proust; explains the difference between “flat” and “round” characters and between plot and story; and ultimately provides an “admirable and delightful” education for anyone who appreciates the art of a good book" —The New York Times

"Collection of literary lectures by E.M. Forster, published in 1927. For the purposes of his study, Forster defines the novel as 'any fictitious prose work over 50,000 words.' The seven aspects offered for discussion are the story, people, plot, fantasy, prophecy, pattern, and rhythm. The author compares the form and texture of the novel to those of a symphony. As for subject, he expects the work 'to reveal the hidden life at its source.' Human nature, he concludes, is the novelist's necessary preoccupation." —The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature