Novel Characters offers a fascinating and in-depth history of the novelistic character from the “birth of the novel” in Don Quixote, through the great canonical works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the most influential international novels of the present day
An original study which offers a unique approach to thinking about and discussing character
Makes extensive reference to both traditional and more recent and specialized academic studies of the novel
Provides a critical vocabulary for understanding how the novelistic conception of character has changed over time.
Examines a broad range of novels, cultures, and periods
Promotes discussion of how different cultures and times think about human identity, and how the concept of what a character is has changed over time
About the Author
Maria DiBattista is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Princeton University; she has written extensively on modern literature, popular and pulp fiction, and film. Her books include First Love: The Affections of Modern Fiction (1991), Fast Talking Dames (2001), and Imagining Virginia Woolf: An Experiment in Critical Biography (2009).
