A novel is a long narrative, normally in prose, which describes fictional charac

ters and events, usually in the form of a sequential story.

While Ian Watt in The Rise of the Novel (1957) suggests that the novel came into
being in the early 18th century, the genre has also been described as "a contin
uous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years",[1] with historical
roots in Classical Greece and Rome, medieval, early modern romance, and in the t
radition of the novella. The latter, an Italian word used to describe short stor
ies, supplied the present generic English term in the 18th century. Miguel de Ce
rvantes, author of Don Quixote, is frequently cited as the first significant Eur
opean novelist of the modern era; the first part of Don Quixote was published in
1605.[2]
While a more precise definition of the genre is difficult, the main elements tha
t critics discuss are: how the narrative, and especially the plot, is constructe
d; the themes, settings, and characterization; how language is used; and the way
that plot, character, and setting relate to reality.
The romance is a related long prose narrative. Walter Scott defined it as "a fic
titious narrative in prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvellous
and uncommon incidents", whereas in the novel "the events are accommodated to t
he ordinary train of human events and the modern state of society".[3] However,
many romances, including the historical romances of Scott,[4] Emily Bront's Wuthe
ring Heights[5] and Herman Melville's Moby-Dick,[6] are also frequently called n
ovels, and Scott describes romance as a "kindred term". Romance, as defined here
, should not be confused with the genre fiction love romance or romance novel. O
ther European languages do not distinguish between romance and novel: "a novel i
s le roman, der Roman, il romanzo."[7]