Victorian Novelists - Later Nineteenth Century Novelists

Later Nineteenth Century [Victorian] Novelists

Charles Dickens

He is one of the greatest English novelists. He wrote novels based on social issues. He is a realist novelist. He bitterly attacked the social evils, the money-minded rich people, and the industrial society. In his novels, he presents the lives of the poor, their miserable condition and the cruel treatment of society to the poor. He attacked the bad effects of the Industrial Revolution that caused poverty, diseases, injustice and many other ills. He shows how true man is surrounded by villains, social climbers, criminals and cheats. In his different novels, he describes and attacks many kinds of unpleasant people and places- bad schools, school teachers, government departments, bad prisons and bad houses. His characters include thieves, murderers, men in debt, stupid, hungry children and cheats. His major novels are:

Hard Times

Thomas Gradgrind is a scientific man who teaches his children about facts and scientific reasoning. Emotion and imagination are never allowed in the lives of children. Consequently, his son robs the bank of his own relative while his daughter becomes a fragmented woman. Later Gradgrind understands his foolishness. This novel is an attack on science and scientific reasoning.

A Christmas Carol

The main protagonist Scrooge does not celebrate Christmas and he gains pleasure by behaving other people badly. He is greedy and selfish. Three ghosts remind him his past, present and future and his coming death. Scrooge then becomes helpful, warm, loving and leads a religious life.

Nicholas Nickleby

This is a tale of a boy who is left poor on his father’s death. He is sent to work in a school, Dotheboys Hall. There the master, Squeers, treats forty miserable students cruelly and teaches them nothing. Nicholas beats the criminal Squeers and then escapes.

Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist is an orphan. He runs away from his workhouse and joins a band of pickpockets. He leads a criminal life because of hunger and poverty. Twist gets caught stealing from a wealthy man. The man finds that Twist is his nephew. This novel presents the cruel treatment of poor by the society.

William Makepeace Thackeray

He was born and raised in a wealthy family. He is famous for his humorous and ironic description of the middle and upper classes of his time. He attacked the behaviours, duplicity and falsity of the upper-class society of his time. He gave an honest view of life. He knew that men and women are complex and humans have both good and bad qualities. His novels are realistic, colourful and lively. He understood that weak and innocent people are not rewarded but pushed to the wall. His major novels are:

Vanity Fair

This novel is about an ambitious woman named Becky Sharp, poor but of noble birth. She uses her wit, cunningness and duplicity to become successful. She has to change according to society’s worldly standards. This novel satirizes the values of upper-class English society. Duplicity and double-standard are essential to succeed in life.

The Newcomes

This novel is based on the life, love and marriage of Clive Newcome, the son of an honourable officer who loses all his money.

Emily Bronte

Her characters are passionate but cruel. She was too imaginative and passionate than her sister Charlotte Bronte. Her most successful novel is:

Wuthering Heights

In this novel, passionate Heathcliff falls in love with Catherine. When Heathcliff hears Catherine saying that she could not marry such a low man, he leaves the house. Three years later he returns becoming rich but finds Catherine married to Edgar, a man of weak character. Heathcliff buys neighbouring estate Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff then begins a life of cruelty and revenge. Catherine dies, and Heathcliff marries Edgar’s sister and treats her badly.

Also Read

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• Twentieth-Century English Literature 

• Victorian Novelists - Later Nineteenth Century Novelists

Charlotte Bronte

She lived in poor surroundings. Her poverty and unhappy life frequently appear in her novels. Her novels are able to develop strong feelings and emotions in the readers. Her novels are realistic.

Her main novels are

Jane Eyre: It tells the story of an orphaned girl who falls in love with a married man. Jane Eyre is a poor and unbeautiful girl who is brought up by a cruel aunt and sent to a miserable school. She goes to teach the daughter of Mr. Rochester. Although she is not beautiful, Rochester falls in love with her. When she discovers that his mad wife is still alive, she runs away. Later the house of Rochester is on fire and his mad wife is burnt to death. Rochester tried to save her but could not. He becomes lonely and depressed. On hearing all of this, Jane Eyre marries him.

Villette: It reflects the personal experiences of the writer when she was in Brussels; without beauty or money. She then becomes a teacher and wins respect for her good character.

Thomas Hardy

In his novels, nature plays an important part. Almost all of his novels are set in Wessex, among farms, trees, fields and low hills. His novels are darker and more pessimistic in tone. The characters are controlled by fate, chance and natural forces. The characters work hard but can not fight with fate or natural force and they die a miserable death. Most of Hardy’s characters can not control their passion, greed and lust, so they are destined to fall. All of Hardy’s major works deal with unhappy relationships, several with divorce. He thought that in this meaningless world people only suffer and surrender to fate.

His major novels are:

Far from the Madding Crowd: In this novel, Gabriel, a shepherd, loves Bathsheba with a true heart. He serves her faithfully for many years. But Sergeant Try, an attractive but cruel soldier, marries her and treats her badly. He is murdered by an angry farmer, and after many troubles, Bathsheba marries Gabriel. This is the story of patient love on one side and selfish passion on the other.

The Mayor of Casterbridge: This novel is about Michel Henchard. He sells his wife and daughter when is drunk for a few pounds. He promises that he will not drink alcohol for twenty years. He then goes to Casterbridge, becomes mayor and wealthy person. He falls in love with Lucetta. But when his wife and daughter arrive, he changes his mind. Lucetta marries Henchard’s enemy. Henchard then loses all his wealth and starts drinking again. In the end, he dies a miserable death.

Jude the Obscure: It is the story of Jude Fawley – a poor stone worker. Since childhood, he longed to become a religious teacher, but could not escape the problems caused by his own sexual desires and heavy drinking. Fate is against him. His marriage is a failure, and he falls in love with a clever teacher. Sorrows follow their life together; their children die, then  Jude begins to drink heavily that causing his death.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles: It is a tale of a poor girl, Tess, who is seduced by D’Urberville. She marries another man Angel Clare who abandons her on learning of her misfortune. Tess later murders her seducer D’Urberville to free herself from him. She is arrested and hanged.

George Eliot

She wrote with sympathy, wisdom, and realism about English country people and towns. She wrote seriously about social and moral problems. She wrote calmer books that are full of oral lesions. She wanted to teach through her novels. Her novels are set in domestic and rural environments.

Her major novels are

Middlemarch: The story revolves around moral choices in an imperfect world. It is considered to be her masterpiece and one of the greatest English novels.

Adam Bede: It is about Adam Bede, a carpenter, who dearly loves Hetty Sorel. Sorel is interested only in Captain Donnithorne. Marriage is arranged between Adam and Hetty, but she escapes in search of her lover Captain Donnithorne. She does not find him. She gives birth to a child but leaves it in the woods. The child dies. She is sent to prison.