Jessica Gössl

Nonetheless, it was hugely successful and came to be considered a classic work of Japanese literature.

In Europe, some medieval and Renaissance texts might be considered early novels or precursors to the novel.

For instance, the works of Geoffrey Chaucer or Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Mallory.

They're engaging fictional tales with complex plots and casts of characters.

But according to many scholars, the first true modern novel is Don Quixote.

Written by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, the first part was published in 1605.

Don Quixote is a classic for many reasons.

Its vibrant characters, its irony and intelligence.

But as an early novel, one feature that makes it stand out is its use of heteroglossia.

Simply put, that means it contains a range of voices and viewpoints.

Nowadays, we take it for granted that many works of fiction contain multiple viewpoints.

But when Cervantes did it in Don Quixote, a long prose narrative, it was something fresh and exciting.

A new kind of novel.

In the English language, one of the early pioneers of the novel was Daniel Defoe.

Robinson Crusoe was published in 1719.

Defoe combined features of multiple genres, including romance and memoir, to create a captivating tale of adventure.

Like Cervantes, Defoe seemed to be doing something new, a more ambitious kind of storytelling.

And it turned out that readers liked it.

In fact, they loved it.

It wasn't until the 18th century that the novel truly took off in Europe.