Types of Prose Fiction

Epistolary Novel

This novel is conveyed entirely by an exchange of letters. For Example- Samuel Richardson's Pamela

Picaresque Novel

Early form of the novel- it presents the adventures of a lighthearted rascal (picaro= rogue). Usually episodic in structure, the episodes often arranged as a journey. Example- Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Historical Novel

Takes its setting and some of the (chief) characters and events from history. It develops these elements with attention to the known facts and makes the historical events and issues important to the central narrative. Example: Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series

Bildungsroman

(Novel of education) Type of novel originating in Germany which presents the development of a character mostly from childhood to maturity. This process typically contains conflicts and struggles, which are ideally overcome in the end so that the protagonist can become a valid and valuable member of society. Example: Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, Michael Lewis' The Blind Side, JK Rowling's Harry Potter Series

Gothic Novel

This type of novel became very popular during the second half of the 18th Century. These novels aim to evoke chilling terror by exploiting mystery and a variety of horrors. They're usually set in in desolate landscapes, ruined abbeys, or medieval castles with dungeons, winding staircases and sliding panels. Heroes and heroines find themselves in gloomy atmospheres where they are confronted with supernatural forces, demonic powers, and wicked tyrants. For Example- Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Social Novel

Give a portrait of society, especially lower parts of society, dealing with and criticizing the living conditions created by industrial development or by a particular legal situation (the poor laws, for instance.) Examples include: Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil

Science Fiction

Ranging from short story to novel, these stories include quests for other worlds, the influence of alien beings on Earth or alternate realities; they can be utopian, dystopian, or set in the past. Common to all types of science fiction is the interest in scientific change and development and concern for social, climatic, geological or ecological change e.g.- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, H.G.Wells' The Time Machine, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, George Orwell's 1984, Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game

Metafiction

Fiction that is written self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality. It concentrates on the phenomenological characteristics of fiction and investigates in to the quintessential nature of literary art by reflecting the process of narrating.

Examples are: Laurence Stern's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, John Fowle's The French Lieutenant's Woman and Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook

Romance

Fictional narrative in prose or verse that represents a chivalric theme or relates improbable adventures of idealised characters in some remote or enchanted setting. It typically deploys monodimensional or static characters who are sharply discriminated as heroes or villains, masters or victims. The protagonist is often solitary and isolated from a social context, the plot emphasizes adventure, and is often cast in the form of a quest for an ideal or the pursuit of an enemy. Examples include Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (author unknown) , Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, Percy B. Shelley's Queen Mab, Nathanial Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables.

Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. For Example: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Series) by

George R.R. Martin

Short Story

Piece of prose fiction marked by relative shortness and density, organized into a plot and with some kind of denouement at the end. The plot may be comic, tragic, romantic, or satiric. It may be written in the mode of fantasy, realism or naturalism.

Examples are: Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game, Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, Frank Stockton's The Lady or the Tiger, Stephen King's The Mist, 1408, and The Jaunt

Types of Prose Fiction

Fantasy Novel

The Novel

Novel- an extended work of prose fiction. From Italian "novella"- little new thing. . The term denotes a prose narrative about characters and their actions in what is recognizably everyday life. The novel has various sub-genres...

Romantic Novel

The romantic novel- Novels of this type of genre fiction place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." For Example: The Notebook, The Wedding, The Longest Ride, Dear John, Message in a Bottle, Safe Haven, The Last Song, etc. all by Nicholas Sparks, Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller, The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans,