The First Novel in English?

What was the first novel in English? This seemingly simple question has no universally accepted answer. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) is traditionally regarded as the first English novel, but several earlier works have been proposed as candidates.

The disagreement exists because the definition of a “novel” has changed over time. Depending on whether we emphasize length, prose, realism, originality, narrative unity, or psychological characterization, different works can claim a place in the history of the English novel.

This article examines the major candidates and explains why Chaucer, Malory, Aphra Behn, Defoe, and Samuel Richardson are all important to the story.

What Is Considered the First Novel in English?

The most commonly accepted answer is:

** Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe**

However, this does not mean that no English prose fiction existed before 1719. Numerous earlier works contained features that we now associate with the novel.

The problem is that earlier texts often belong to categories such as romance, allegory, novella, picaresque fiction, satire, or narrative poetry. Modern critics therefore disagree about whether they should be called novels.

The influential literary critic Ian Watt, in The Rise of the Novel (1957), helped establish Robinson Crusoe as a central example of the rise of the modern English novel.

Major Candidates for the First English Novel

1. Geoffrey Chaucer —

Troilus and Criseyde

Date: c. 1380s
Form: Narrative poem
Language: Middle English

Although Troilus and Criseyde is not normally classified as an English novel, it is an important novelistic precursor.

Chaucer presents complex characters, psychological development, love, conflict, and a sustained narrative. These qualities make the work resemble some features of the later novel.

However, the work is written in verse rather than prose, which is the main reason it is not normally called the first English novel.

Exam point

Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde = important early novelistic narrative, but not normally the first English prose novel.

2. Thomas Malory —

Le Morte d’Arthur

Written: c. 1470
Published: 1485

Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur is one of the earliest major works of English prose fiction.

It brings together stories concerning King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot, Guinevere, and other Arthurian figures.

Some scholars have considered it a possible early English novel. However, it is more commonly classified as a prose romance.

Why is it difficult to call it a novel?

• It retells earlier Arthurian material.
• It contains multiple stories and episodes.
• It has heroic and fantastic elements.
• It does not conform to the realistic structure associated with the modern novel.

Thus, Le Morte d’Arthur is a major precursor, but not the standard answer to the question of the first English novel.

3. William Baldwin —

Beware the Cat

Written: 1553
Published: 1570/1584

Beware the Cat is another early candidate in the history of English prose fiction.

It is notable for its unusual narrative technique, satire, and imaginative elements. Its early date makes it significant when tracing the development of English prose fiction.

Nevertheless, it is not generally accepted as the first English novel.

4. John Lyly —

Euphues

** Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit — 1578**
** Euphues and His England — 1580**

John Lyly’s Euphues is an important work in the development of English prose.

It became particularly famous for its elaborate rhetorical style, known as Euphuism.

Although Euphues is sometimes included among early novelistic works, its highly rhetorical style and structure distinguish it from the realistic novel that developed later.

5. Philip Sidney —

The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia

Date: 1581

Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia is one of the great works of Elizabethan prose fiction.

It combines:

• romance
• adventure
• love
• politics
• pastoral elements
• heroic characters

Because of its form and fantastic elements, it is generally considered a prose romance rather than the first modern English novel.

6. Thomas Nashe —

The Unfortunate Traveller

Date: 1594

Thomas Nashe’s The Unfortunate Traveller; or, The Life of Jack Wilton is particularly important because it is an early example of picaresque fiction in English.

Its protagonist, Jack Wilton, moves through a series of adventures and experiences.

The work is sometimes considered a candidate for the early English novel, but its episodic, picaresque structure makes classification difficult.

7. Margaret Cavendish —

The Blazing World

Date: 1666

Margaret Cavendish’s The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World is an extraordinary early work of speculative fiction.

It contains elements of:

• utopian fiction
• science fiction
• fantasy
• political philosophy

Because of its relatively short length, it is often described as a novella rather than a full-length novel.

Nevertheless, its place in the history of English fiction is extremely important.

8. John Bunyan —

The Pilgrim’s Progress

Date: 1678

John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress is one of the most influential works of English literature.

It follows Christian on his spiritual journey from the City of Destruction toward the Celestial City.

Why isn’t it normally called the first English novel?

Because it is fundamentally an allegory. Its characters and events represent religious and spiritual ideas rather than functioning solely as realistic fictional characters and events.

9. Aphra Behn —

Oroonoko

Date: 1688

Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave is one of the most important early works in the history of English fiction.

Behn’s work deals with slavery, colonialism, love, power, and human suffering.

It is frequently discussed as an early novel or novella, but its short length is one reason some critics hesitate to call it the first English novel.

Nevertheless, Aphra Behn is a crucial figure in the development of English prose fiction.

10. Daniel Defoe —

Robinson Crusoe

Date: 1719

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is the work most commonly identified as the first English novel.

The full title is The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.

The novel tells the story of Crusoe, who is shipwrecked and survives for many years on a remote island.

The work is particularly significant because of its emphasis on:

• individual experience
• realistic detail
• economic activity
• self-reliance
• personal survival
• everyday life

These characteristics helped establish the tradition of the modern English novel.

Why is

Robinson Crusoe

traditionally considered the first English novel?

The answer is connected to the idea of realism and individual experience.

Unlike earlier romances, Defoe’s narrative presents itself as the life story of an individual and gives considerable attention to practical details of everyday existence.

This fits the model of the modern novel that became influential in the eighteenth century.

11. Samuel Richardson —

Pamela

Date: 1740

Samuel Richardson’s Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded is another landmark in the history of the English novel.

It is especially famous because it is an epistolary novel.

What is an epistolary novel?

An epistolary novel is a novel written through documents such as:

• letters
• diary entries
• journals
• other written correspondence

Pamela is primarily presented through letters written by its protagonist, Pamela Andrews.

The novel focuses heavily on Pamela’s emotions, thoughts, experiences, and moral struggles.

Important exam point

Pamela = famous English epistolary novel

It is not normally considered the first English novel overall. Rather, it represents an important development in the form of the eighteenth-century novel.

Why Is There No Single Agreed Answer?

The phrase “first novel in English” creates a problem because critics do not always use the word novel in exactly the same way.

Several criteria can change the answer.

1. Length

Some critics expect a novel to have considerable length.

This can exclude shorter works such as:

• Oroonoko
• The Blazing World

which are sometimes classified as novellas.

2. Prose versus verse

This is particularly important for Chaucer.

Troilus and Criseyde has many novelistic qualities, but it is a poem.

Therefore, if the definition requires a prose narrative, Chaucer cannot normally be called the author of the first English novel.

3. Romance versus novel

Earlier works often contain:

• heroic characters
• adventure
• magic
• fantastic events
• legendary material

These are characteristics associated with romance.

The modern novel, by contrast, is often associated with greater realism and ordinary human experience.

This distinction makes Le Morte d’Arthur and Arcadia problematic candidates.

4. Allegory

Works such as The Pilgrim’s Progress use characters and events to represent religious ideas.

Because the characters have symbolic meanings, the work is generally classified as allegory, rather than a realistic novel.

5. Picaresque structure

The Unfortunate Traveller is composed largely of connected adventures and episodes.

Critics who require a strong unity of plot may therefore hesitate to classify it as the first novel.

6. Originality

Some early works are based heavily on earlier stories and traditions.

Le Morte d’Arthur, for example, draws upon existing Arthurian material.

If a completely original narrative is required, such works may be excluded from consideration.

The Role of Ian Watt

One of the most influential discussions of the rise of the modern novel comes from literary critic Ian Watt.

His 1957 study The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding played a major role in establishing Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, and Henry Fielding at the centre of discussions about the development of the English novel.

Watt’s approach helped strengthen the traditional association between Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and the emergence of the modern English novel.

First English Novel: Quick Revision Table

Question	Answer
Early novelistic work by Chaucer	Troilus and Criseyde
Early English prose romance	Le Morte d’Arthur — Thomas Malory
Early English picaresque fiction	The Unfortunate Traveller — Thomas Nashe
Early speculative/utopian fiction	The Blazing World — Margaret Cavendish
Famous early allegory	The Pilgrim’s Progress — John Bunyan
Important early novella	Oroonoko — Aphra Behn
Traditional first English novel	** Robinson Crusoe — Daniel Defoe (1719)**
Famous early epistolary novel	Pamela — Samuel Richardson (1740)
First modern novel in the Western tradition	Don Quixote — Miguel de Cervantes

Conclusion

The question “What is the first novel in English?” does not have a completely straightforward answer.

If we use a broad definition of fiction, the history goes back much further, with works such as Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde and Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur showing important novelistic qualities.

If we require a realistic, substantial prose narrative resembling the modern novel, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) is the traditional and most widely accepted answer.

Later, Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) made another major contribution by developing the epistolary form, telling its story largely through letters.

There is no universally agreed first English novel, but Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel Defoe is traditionally regarded as the first English novel in the modern sense.

Chaucer → early novelistic narrative
Malory → early prose romance
Defoe → traditionally first English novel
Richardson → major epistolary novel