The rise of the novel. Discuss.

The novel is a modern form of literature. The invention of printing made this form of literature possible. In ancient times manuscripts were handwritten and circulated among very few people. With the advent of printing novels were widely read and became popular very quickly. Novels produced a number of common interests among the fast growing population of the cities in western countries. The readers were drawn into the story and identified themselves with the lives of fictitious characters in the novels.Novels became popular in England and France, initially. Novels were first written in the seventeenth century but flourished only from the eighteenth century.Novel were read by a wide variety of people. Shopkeepers and clerks also started reading novels which were hitherto read only buy the aristocratic and gentlemanly classes in England and France.The earnings of authors increased as readership grew and the market for books expanded. This gave the writers independence to experiment with different literary styles. Henry Fielding, a novelist of the early eighteenth century, claimed he was 'the founder of a new province of writing' where he could make his own laws.
The novel allowed flexibility in the form of writing.