Eventfulness in British fiction : historical, cultural and social aspects of the tellability of stories

"An event, defined as the decisive turn, the surprising point in the plot of a narrative, constitutes its tellability, the motivation for reading it. This book describes a framework for a narratological definition of eventfulness and its dependence on the historical, socio-cultural and literary context. A series of fifteen analyses of British novels and tales, from late medieval and early modern times to the late 20th century, demonstrates how this concept can be put into practice for a new, specifically contextual interpretation of the central relevance of these texts. The examples include Chaucer's "Miller's Tale", Behn's "Oroonoko", Defoe's "Moll Flanders", Richardson's "Pamela", Fielding's "Tom Jones", Dickens's "Great Expectations", Hardy's "On the Western Circuit", James's "The Beast in the Jungle", Joyce's "Grace", Conrad's "Shadow-Line", Woolf's "Unwritten Novel", Lawrence's "Fanny and Annie", Mansfield's "At the Bay", Fowles's "Enigma" and Swift's "Last Orders". This selection is focused on the transitional period from 19th-century realism to 20th-century modernism because during these decades traditional concepts of what counts as an event were variously problematized; therefore, these texts provide a particularly interesting field for testing the analytical capacity of the term of eventfulness."--Publisher's website Frontmatter Contents 1. Introduction 2. Geoffrey Chaucer: “The Miller’s Tale” 3. Aphra Behn: Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave: A True History (1688) 4. Daniel Defoe: Moll Flanders (1722) 5. Samuel Richardson: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740) 6. Henry Fielding: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749) 7. Charles Dickens: Great Expectations (1861) 8. Thomas Hardy: “On the Western Circuit” (1891) 9. Henry James: “The Beast in the Jungle” (1903) 10. James Joyce: “Grace” (1914) 11. Joseph Conrad: The Shadow-Line: A Confession (1917) 12. Virginia Woolf: “An Unwritten Novel” (1921) 13. D. H. Lawrence: “Fanny and Annie” (1921) 14. Katherine Mansfield: “At the Bay” (1922) 15. John Fowles: “The Enigma” (1974) 16. Graham Swift: Last Orders (1996) 17. Conclusion

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An Event Is Here Defined As The Decisive Turn, The Surprising Point In The Plot Of A Narrative, Which Constitutes Its Tellability, The Motivation For Reading It. The Book Describes A Framework For The Narratological Definition Of This Term And Its Dependence On The Historical, Socio-cultural And Literary Context. A Series Of Analyses Of Canonical British Novels And Tales, From The Early Modern Period To The End Of The 20th Century, Demonstrates In Detail How This Concept Can Be Put Into Practice For A Specific Contextual Interpretation Of The Eventfulness Of These Texts. Main description: An event, defined as the decisive turn, the surprising point in the plot of a narrative, constitutes its tellability, the motivation for reading it. The book describes a framework for a narratological definition of eventfulness and its dependence on the historical, socio-cultural and literary context. The detailed analyses of 15 British novels or tales, from early modern times to the late 20th century, demonstrate how this concept can be put into practice for a new, specifically contextual interpretation of the central relevance of these texts