Novelists of the Later Victorian period
The novels in the Later Victorian period took a new trend. The novels written during this period are called, 'Modern Novels'.
George Eliot was the first to write about this trend.
Other novelists were Meredith and Hardy.
Adam Bede by George Eliot, The Ordeal of Richard Feveral and many more important publications of this period.
The novelists of the Early Victorian period - Dickens, Thackeray, and Trollope followed Defoe Richardson.
These tried to make the novels as serious as poetry.
The Russian novelists - Turgenuv, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
They also followed the French novelist - Flaubert.
All attempted to make the novel, a medium to convey profound thoughts.
The seriousness of the novelists was both moral and aesthetic. George Eliot and Meredith brought this into English fiction.
These writers belonged to the Elite class.
Eliot and Meredith lived in a large world of ideas.
These two writers developed a critical view of England and its literature.
Thus they gave a new trend to English novels and made them "modern".
They were followed by Hardy the extended the scope of the novel.
George Eliot(1819-1880)
The real name of George Eliot was Mary Ann.
Her writing was exclusively critical and philosophic.
George Eliot was born in Waswick Swire.
It is the experience of the English village that was found in her novels.
She had a deep sense of observation. Thus she gave a complete picture of their lives.
She beautifully blended the countryside and country life.
Her stories have the unity of the plot. Different episodes are related to each other.
This was her significant contribution.
Her novels reflect Eliot as a preacher and moralizer.
But she was affected by the scientific spirit of the age.
Her novels are examples of psychological realism.
She represents the inner struggle of the soul that governs human action.
Her novels reflect the contemporary movement of thought.
She reveals the motives which govern human action.
George Eliot explains the minute motives of her character. Thus they give moral lessons.
Her characters go from weakness to strength.
Her notable works are - Silas Mariner Ramola and many more.
B) George Meredith (1829-1909)
Meredith was another great figure of the Later Victorian Period.
He was a poet at heart but expressed himself in the medium of the novel.
He did not follow any established tradition.
He was more a philosopher than a novelist.
Meredith traces the calamities which befall those who go against the laws of nature.
For him, the happiness of man, was, fine health and soul.
His notable works are - The Egoist, Sandra Belloni, and The Ordeal of Richard Fenerat.
Meredith was a psychologist.
Meredith was optimistic about life.
He believed in the theory of Evolution.
So the human race is evolving towards perfection.
And this can be achieved if men and women live a healthy life.
His novels are written in a different style
His novels have a special message.
The modern man is enveloped in a depressing atmosphere.
C) Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
The greatest novelist of the Later Victorian Period was Thomas Hardy.
He was also at heart.
Hardy thinks, there is some malignant power that controls this universe.
Hardy carries the opinion that for those who assert themselves, this power goes against those hostile to them.
This power tries to defeat man in all his plains.
His novels reflect that a man works throughout his life, but is dissatisfied with the age in which they lived.
He yearned for the past of England.
He distributed the modern civilisation.
He feared that modern civilisation weakened the people.
On the other side, Nature gave them a 'clear head' and 'enduring spirit'.
In his works, we find the ancient and modern at war.
Hardy passed the major portion of his life near Dorchester.
He was very close to the people and culture.
He took the institution of 'Dorchester' the countryside of South-West England.
He then placed the ancient name, 'Wessex' in the literary map of the novels.
He created a number of characters.
Hardy believed in the malignant power, that defeated man at every step.
His novels are full of coincidences.
Chance plays a vital role in the life of his characters.
As a writer of tragedies, Hardy stands with the great figure of English Literature.
Hardy is a master of pathos.
He beautifully describes the characters and scenes in his novels.
His main contribution to English Literature is that he made novels as serious as poetry.
He had deep sympathy for the poor and the downtrodden.
His great novels are - Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Caster Bridge, Jude the Obscure, and many more.
D) Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)
Stevenson was a great storyteller.
The contribution of Stevenson to the English novel is that he introduced romantic adventure.
i) He rediscovered the art of narrative.
ii) Consciousness and telling of a story.
iii) This gave the birth of the Nov of action.
His novels gave entertainment.
His works are ' Treasure Island', 'Kidnapped', ' New Arabian Nights, and many more.
E) George Gissing (1857-1903)
Gissing generally points to the sordid side of life.
He lacked the belief that evils could be conquered.
i) He was influenced by the French realists and Schopen hare's philosophy.
ii) So he saw the world full of foolish characters.
He considers the problem of poverty as insoluble.
That the oppressed class could not revolt.
And the rich would not surrender themselves.
Thus it is the intellectuals that suffer the most. This is the moral of the novels of Gissing.
His notable works are in The Dawn, New Grub Street, and many more.
His novels reflect the struggle against poverty.
His ' The Private Papers of Henry Kyecroft is a great autobiographical fiction.
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