000 02296cam a22003253u 4500
001 76460
003 UtSlPG
005 20260610134753.0
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007 cr n
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040 _aUtSlPG
041 7 _aen
_2iso639-1
050 4 _aPN
100 1 _aBesant, Walter,
_d1836-1901
245 1 4 _aThe art of fiction
264 1 _aSalt Lake City, UT :
_bProject Gutenberg,
_c2025
300 _a1 online resource :
_bmultiple file formats
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
500 _a"A lecture delivered at the Royal Institution, April 25, 1884"
500 _aRelease date is 2025-07-07
508 _aAl Haines
520 _a"The art of fiction by Walter Besant" is a lecture-essay on literary criticism and the craft of novel-writing from the late 19th century, in the Victorian era. It argues that fiction is a fine art equal to painting, sculpture, music, and poetry, and concisely sets out what storytellers should aim to do. The lecture advances three core claims: fiction is a true art; it is guided by general laws that can be learned; and, like other arts, it still requires innate talent. It defines fiction’s domain as humanity, praising its power to cultivate sympathy and to teach through selection, suppression, and suggestion. It lays down practical rules: rely on real observation and experience; keep human interest foremost; select only what advances character and story; present scenes dramatically; conceive characters clearly; believe wholly in the tale; and write with patient, finished style and a moral sense. It insists that story is indispensable, though invention cannot be taught, and urges studying the construction of great novels. An appendix offers direct advice to beginners on revising, seeking honest criticism, navigating publishers, and never paying to publish, closing with encouragement about the art’s present strength and future promise. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
534 _pOriginally published:
_cLondon: Chatto & Windus, 1884
653 _aFiction -- Technique
856 4 _uhttps://archive.org/details/artoffiction0000besa
856 4 0 _uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76460
999 _c117185
_d117185