The Structure of the Novel

by Edwin Muir

A guide to constructing a novel for budding writers by one of Scotland's finest poets. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Writing

Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Edwin Muir, Orcadian poet, novelist and translator noted, together with his wife Willa Anderson, for making Franz Kafka available in English.

Between 1921 and 1923, Muir lived in Prague, Dresden, Italy, Salzburg and Vienna; he returned to the UK in 1924. Between 1925 and 1956, Muir published seven volumes of poetry which were collected after his death and published in 1991 as The Complete Poems of Edwin Muir. From 1927 to 1932 he published three novels, and in 1935 he came to St Andrews, where he produced his controversial Scott and Scotland (1936).

Reviews

[Dara · Rating 2 out of 5]

In each chapter, I felt he rambled through his thoughts but, in the end, he made some insightful points about the art of structuring a novel based on a novel type (character versus dramatic versus period versus chronicle).

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine little volume of analysis of the form of the novel. At only 151 pages at roughly 200 words per page, it packs many useful insights b/t its covers. Muir gazes upon the vast land of the novel and uses inherent characteristics and aesthetic necessities to place novels into one of three categories. I am wary of things which attempt to simplify and classify things into neat categories, but that is not what happens here. As I said, he makes an argument using inherent qualities in the different types of novels to classify them, and this analysis is a useful one.

With its first edition appearing in 1928 and a second one in 1957 there are aspects which may seem offputting to a current reader. Primarily the content of his examples reflects this book's place in history. I've never read Vanity Fair, or Wuthering Heights, or much Dickens, but the fact that many examples deal with these and other books I'm not much interested in reading turns out to not be an issue. I understand what he is saying without being able to picture the characters he is referring to. The most recent books discussed are Ulysses and Mrs. Dalloway.

Definitely a worthwhile read.

[Kevin]

Why would anyone write literary criticism that is lucid, well researched, and unpretentious?

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I did learn a few things, but, overall, I don't think it helped me improve my writing.