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Kristen Roberts

Mr. Evans

English Composition 1001070

8 December 2019

A Woefully Short Story

History—one of the core subjects taught in school—is often reduced to a course studied,

tested, and then promptly forgotten after receiving a grade. However, history illuminates much

about the present and future because it is the foundation upon which reality is built. When

considering the history of the universe, for instance, it reveals an often repressed truth about

humanity’s egotism. If the first of January is the Big Bang, then humans appear only on the last

day of the year. More specifically, the modern world in which we live only appears in the

calendar in the last second of December thirty-first. This calendar emphasizes just how minute

humanity is in the broad scope of the universe: it is not intended to make humans feel

insignificant, but instead, correct the belief that history began when humans entered.

Although this information begs the question: how would our understand of history be

shaped if scientists did not record the history of the cosmos in this way? Arguably, people would

continue with their flawed thinking that history begins and ends with humanity. With this in

mind, there is another formative part of history that has yet to be studied and taught: the history

of the novel. Of course, the history of the novel is not as expansive as that of the cosmos, but it

too holds secrets that deserve to be studied. In fact, if the novel is studied in its entirety, the way

in which humans relate to and understand each other is destined to drastically change.

Some may believe that the history of the novel is not as important as understanding other

topics and that perhaps it may even be impossible to adequately study. When dealing with such a
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subjective and ambiguous topic like the impact of the novel, some may become disillusioned in

the seemingly lack of facts and data. However, it is this nature about the history of the novel that

solidifies its importance for it is rarely the digestible and simple events in life that affect the

world.

In order to better understand its effect, there are a few factors that must be considered,

such as the current tale of the history of the novel. For many years, historians and scholars have

studied the novel, which undoubtedly has reaped various insights. After all, in literature class,

one does not learn about the novels closest to the teacher, but instead, the curriculum is based

upon works that are deemed by scholars as integral to understanding the world. However,

another important aspect of the novel and its impact is to analyze the mechanisms that have

formed this history and note where improvements can be made. Lastly, history is the foundation

for present ideas and because this history is filled with such holes, it bends the past into a

convoluted, fictitious tale. While novels seem stagnant at times, the context and surroundings of

each novel greatly shapes its ability to influence others, and therefore, must be studied with this

complexity not only in mind but reciprocated.

When looking at the expansive sea of literature, it is difficult to find an apt place to start

investigating. There is the invention of paper, the first scroll, writings in walls, the invention of

the written word, and before that, the paintings on the walls. The first authors and first bound

books—all of these are part of this long history that seems to never end, but it seems prudent to

begin where we are taught. Teachers teach what is deemed the most important and necessary

subject in order for someone to prosper, which is applicable to the individual course of literature.

The names that are discussed range from school to school, but few nowadays do not know names

such as Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Leo Tolstoy, and Charles Dickens. These authors have
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impacted the world in a way that is seemingly impossible to quantify. They have inspired stories

and people; they have defined literature and how it is taught for years. However, these great

books limit the world’s ability to recognize other authors of the same time.

By teaching these novels, other authors’ voices are being silenced, and more importantly,

students are not able to learn the true course of the novel’s history. Perhaps studying the novels

that have made names from themselves have truly shaped the course of the novel in notable

ways, but as many possibly know, there are seldom original ideas. These authors were so great

because they read books from other great authors. By studying these authors in complete

isolation—or without the entire scope of the novel at that time—people are unable to fully grasp

the impact of the novel: “the book is not so much a category as a process: books happen; they

happen to people who read, reproduce, disseminate, and compose them; and they happen to be

significant. The book can be a force for change and the history of the book documents that

change” (Howsam 5). Although since this history is incomplete, people have a warped sense of

reality: instead of knowing the famous novels of other countries, people only know those written

in Western countries, like England and the United States. This leaves many great stories

unlearned, and unfortunately works to effectively silence authors and rewrite them from the past.

Not only does the history of the novel require all different novels to be represented and

taught, but the way in which it is studied needs to change, drastically. Currently, the novel is

being studied in an isolated manner: each novel is treated as though it is an individual text,

unaffected by context, business, and the author’s influences. All that is known about the history

of the novel are the dates about when the novel first began to be constructed (Unwin). Paper,

binding, ink, and finally mass production are all that describe this study, but when looking at the

history of the novel, these nominal parts of the novel seldom impact the course of history: “the
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book is not so much a category as a process: books happen; they happen to people who read,

reproduce, disseminate, and compose them; and they happen to be significant” (Howsam 5). The

novel is impactful because of its ability to transcend these individual parts and create a message

with universal appeal yet solitary effort: These factors are highly influential for books are mere

methods of communication, and it is these factors that often inspire authors to pen their thoughts.

Another aspect that has not yet been studied is the influence of the book publishing

world. This business remains unstudied because there is little data to obtain, but once scholars

and historians make the effort to uncover this history, one is able to reap many insights on the

past novel. For instance, the publisher of a novel says much about the contents of the novel:

firstly, the publisher agrees with the messages and themes of the story. As Robert Darnton puts

it, the work of a publisher is quite chaotic and all-encompassing: “what impressed [him]

[Darnton] most [is] the need of a publisher to keep several balls in the air while the ground [is]

shifting beneath his feet” (Robert 501). The publisher’s job is to look at many different aspects

of the novel: its ability to be read, sold, and widespread, which the reader understands as she

chooses a book. When given the chance to read from a known and reputable publisher or an

unknown one, it is common to see a reader pick the book from a credible publisher.

However, the part that few study is the connection between this observation and the

effects on people’s reading. For instance, the books that are given the chance to change the world

are those that the publishers choose, but it is unknown what the fate of the rejected books is. In

short, the question remains: are these books part of book history and should they be recorded?

Unfortunately, this woefully understudied part of book history is not taken account currently and

these novels that lay in the periphery of book history are neglected.
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Building upon this thought, the fact that the publisher already has a preexisting

relationship with the public influences the credibility and popularity of the novel. These factors

have the power to launch a novel into popularity or condemn the novel to obscurity. When

looking at an influential part of human history, such as the French Revolution, it is impossible to

view the revolutionary novels published in this time as mere texts. These pamphlets and books

were able to inspire such volatile change that their impact is practically unquantifiable. Voltaire’s

novel, Questions sur l’Encyclopédie, is one of the most important texts of this time, but it is not

his words that allowed him to enact this change: it is the prestige and support of his publisher.

Rigaud, the seller of many Voltaire books, already had a reputation for delivery his clients

thoughtful and provoking books: “When dealers like Rigaud [scratch] and [claw] for their

shipments of it, Voltaire could be sure that he [is] succeeding in his attempt to propel his ideas

through the main lines of France’s communication system” (Darnton 72). Therefore, Voltaire’s

success hinges upon the very buyers and sellers of his books, making his ability to influence

highly contingent upon this external factor, among several others.

Overall, the history of the novel may contain some facts, such as the dates in which the

novel appeared, or the novels of the first authors. However, this understanding is astonishingly

incomplete. The novel—an integral part of communication—that has been and continues to be

one of the most important and impactful way of speaking to people deserves to have an accurate

and veritable history. This means that scholars and historians need to return to the novel and

analyze it in a more comprehensive way that captures the essence of the novel. As Robert

Darnton notes, book history is too important and impactful to be ignored in such a way: “By its

very nature, therefore, the history of books must be international in scale and interdisciplinary in
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method […] [and] by unearthing those circuits [of communication], historians can show that

books do not merely recount history; they make it” (Darnton 81).
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Works Cited

Darnton, Robert. “What Is the History of Books?” Harvard Library,

dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3403038/darnton_historybooks.

Unwin, Philip Soundy, and George Unwin. “Books in the Early Christian Era.” Encyclopædia

Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 19 Sept. 2019,

www.britannica.com/topic/publishing/Books-in-the-early-Christian-era.

Howsam, Leslie. Old Books and New Histories: an Orientation to Studies in Book and Print

Culture. Univ. of Toronto Press, 2006.