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An Eighteenth–Century Attempt at a Critical View of the Novel: The Bibliothèque Universelle Des Romans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

John M. Clapp
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Extract

The eighteenth century, which saw the development of the novel into definite form, saw also the beginnings of careful criticism of the novel. The amount and character of this criticism, however, and the extent of a critical attitude among eighteenth-century novel-readers, have received too little attention from students of fiction. Not to speak of the books of the time dealing with the novel and allied forms, which deserve perhaps more attention than they have received,—notably the bibliography, with comments, in Lenglet-Dufresnoy's L'Usage des Romans (1734), and the lectures of LaHarpe, which, though published much later, were delivered before 1800,—there is a mass of interesting material in eighteenth-century periodicals, French, English, and German. There is also a great amount of criticism in prefaces to novels, in memoirs, and in collections of letters, which if systematically examined would perhaps modify current notions regarding our ancestors' views of prose fiction.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , 1910 , pp. 60 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1910

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References

page 61 note 1 The French list includes several works marked on the title-page as issued in Holland and elsewhere, which were in all respects French works, perhaps even printed in Paris; the English list is made up almost wholly of books published in London;—I have not yet traced the books issued in Dublin or in Scotland.

page 65 note 1 After the first few volumes the title-page bears merely the address: Au Bureau.

page 77 note 1 Correspondance, July, 1776.

page 78 note 1 This “Avis,” which fills about eleven pages in the first volume for October, 1776, may be summarized by paragraphs as follows:—‘(1) The English care little for long romances; the only English work of the kind known in France is Sidney's Arcadia; there are also Pandosto, Roi de Bohème, and Dorastas et Faunia, but they are unknown in France. (2) Many interesting episodes in English history have been made into “romans.” (3) One modern historical novel which is much liked is the Atlantis (sic!) of Mrs. Manley; there is also the Histoire de la Reine Zara; these two works might be classed as satiric or political. (4) “Romans moraux,” especially those combining comedy and the portrayal of manners, are especially popular in England; for example, Fielding and Richardson. (5) There is one “Roman de Spiritualité,” Le Pèlerinage d'un nommé Chrétien à la céleste Jérusalem. (6) The fashion of “Nouvelles,” “petits romans,” which came from Italy to Spain and to France, was not known in England until rather late, but it has greatly flourished there; there are some very good English works of this kind. (7) There are a few small collections of Contes in English, but (8) hardly any original Contes de Fées; the old English poets, however, speak of fairies, and there is a long poem called La Reine des Fées, by Spenser. (9) There are several “Romans Merveilleux,” the Gulliver of Dr. Swift and others. (10) A new form has recently appeared, the “Romans aux lettres,” with which the English are now setting the fashion in France; the English got the suggestion of this from Crébillon's charming Lettres de la Marquise de M. …. au Comte de R. .., which appeared in 1731.‘