This book is a study of the development of the Victorian short story, which by the 1890s and the appearance of the Sherlock Holmes stories, had become the most popular literary product of the late nineteenth century. The book examines the work of nine distinguished writers: William Carleton and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu serve to illustrate the change from a largely oral tradition to a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of the reading public. Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope exemplify significant changes in the relationship between an author and his audience. Thomas Hardy insisted on older, more traditional modes of narrative, but his storytelling sense had been sharpened by experiences with many editors of periodicals who believed they were serving the 'modern' public. The other writers treated at length are Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and H. G. Wells.
- ISBN13 9780521135481
- Publish Date 4 March 2010 (first published 19 June 1986)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 25 May 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Cambridge University Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 224
- Language English