The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding

Rating:
Summary: YES, A CLASSIC, BUT...
Review: Although this is not an exciting book, it is highly informative and well-written. Watt makes a case for why Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding all have a claim to the paternity of the novel. Laborious academic bloviation is relatively nonexistent in The Rise of the Novel, and if you do much of this type of reading, you know that's a plus. Even if your focus is not Defoe, Richardson, or Fielding, this book is important to read, just so you understand where your writing fits in the greater literary tradition, or even to give contemporary writers context.

Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: Although this is not an exciting book, it is highly informative and well-written. Watt makes a case for why Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding all have a claim to the paternity of the novel. Laborious academic bloviation is relatively nonexistent in The Rise of the Novel, and if you do much of this type of reading, you know that's a plus. Even if your focus is not Defoe, Richardson, or Fielding, this book is important to read, just so you understand where your writing fits in the greater literary tradition, or even to give contemporary writers context.

Rating:
Summary: YES, A CLASSIC, BUT...
Review: Any study of the novel would be incomplete without knowledge of this book; however, and it's a big however, it is not a study of the rise of THE NOVEL so much as a study of the ENGLISH novel. And then it's not so much that as the story of the English novel by male authors because the book barely acknowledges female and Continental predecessors and acts as if Defoe invented the form. But as long as you read the book with this grain of salt, it's a good and informative read and well worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: Rather one sided...
Review: I'll agree this book is a staple in the canon of literary criticism and the history of the novel, but what about women writers? I think this book's short coming is its oversight of authors such as Burney, Edgeworth, and Lennox.