{"product_id":"a-history-of-the-novel-in-britain","title":"A History of the Novel in Britain","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Hensher\u003c\/strong\u003e (author)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eThe story of the novel in Britain is a good story.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt begins in the eighteenth century, when people began to read in ever greater numbers, seeking words that helped explain their hopes and desires. A new kind of literature was needed for this growing market of readers, one that reflected as many different lives in its pages as there were people to buy them, that could change with the times and do something new: something novel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this illuminating new history of both an art and an industry, Philip Hensher describes how the evolutionary scramble by writers and publishers to get attention drove constant innovation in writing techniques, and produced new ways of printing, distributing, and selling books. Over the course of three hundred years, these creative and commercial forces shaped the novel’s form and its future, from Daniel Defoe to Zadie Smith.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReading widely across the famous, the once famous and the utterly (if unfairly) forgotten, this is a work of investigative verve that makes a serious case for widening the canon. But it is also a gift: Hensher has read untold thousands of books, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eA History of the Novel in Britain \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis his hoard of treasure, waiting to be discovered, wondered at and delighted in.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003ePhilip Hensher\u003c\/span\u003e is the prizewinning author of twelve novels, and the editor of \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Penguin Book of the British Short Story\u003c\/span\u003e (in two volumes) and of \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story\u003c\/span\u003e. He is Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003ePublisher ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003ePelican\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003ePublication date ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Sept. 2026\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003ePrint length ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e704 pages\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eISBN ‏ : ‎ \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e9780241558140\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rudolf Steiner Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58895892021632,"sku":"9780241558140","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0795\/3281\/8754\/files\/AHistoryoftheNovelinBritain.jpg?v=1788888569","url":"https:\/\/rudolfsteinerbookshop.co.uk\/products\/a-history-of-the-novel-in-britain","provider":"Rudolf Steiner Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}