The English novel began existing in the 18th century. The term novel is a truncation of the Italian word novella (from the plural form of latin's novellus) meaning "new". The English novel was a new style of writing that had not been in existence previously and bare no semblance to previous works.

      The English novel has generally been seen as beginning with Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) though there are some other contenders. The rise of the novel as an important literary genre is generally associated with the growth of the middle class.

       Other notable pioneers of the English novel were Samuel Richardson author of 'Pamela', Henry Fielding who wrote Joseph Andrews etc. A noteworthy aspect of early novels is the way the novelist directly addressed the society. One of the reasons for the growth of the novel was the need for a realistic and credible story that aligned with the lifestyle of the middle class masses; a growing class in England as at that time. Their worries, fears etc were actually portrayed and not the fanciful tales of the novel's predecessors. 

        Mary Edgeworth's novel Castle Rackrent (1800) is the "first fully developed regional novel in English" as well as"the first true historical novel in English". 

     There were different eras in the development of the English novel. They are:

* Early pioneer novels e.g Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

* Romantic novels: which had some characteristics from the previous romance style of writing but maintained the pattern of the novel.

* Victorian novels: novels written in the time of Queen Victoria. E.g Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.

* Modernism novels: the novels from the late 18th century to today. E.g Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.

      These developments brought about the novel as it is today.