A novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late' 18th century. Functionality and the presentation in a narrative are the two features most commonly invoked to distinguish novels from histories. in a historical perspective they are problematic criteria. Histories were supposed to be narrative projects throughout the early modern period. Their authors could include inventions as long as they were rooted in traditional knowledge or in order to orchestrate a certain passage. Historians would thus invent and compose speeches for didactic purposes. Novels can, on the other hand, depict the social, political, and personal realities of a place and period with a clarity and detail historians would not dare to explore. This encyclopaedia contains biographies of some of the world's greatest novelists throughout the ages. it is hoped that the encyclopedia's effort to emphasize upon the need for novel in the modern world is appreciated by readers.

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