Social and historical context in the novel
Nineteenth-century novels were often published in instalments and read aloud at home. Both facts left marks on how they are written.
Part of your national curriculum
- Reading: Read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including whole books and plays, and texts from the English literary heritage
- Reading: Draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs
Key learning points
- • Serial publication
- • Industry, reform and readership
- • Purpose beyond entertainment
- • Reading against the grain
This lesson at a glance
- 28 minutes
- 20 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 20
Visual introductionPicture this
Social and historical context in the novel
Nineteenth-century novels were often published in instalments and read aloud at home. Both facts left marks on how they are written.
In a nutshell
Draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 20
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Serial publication
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 20
Learn
Serial publication
Many novels appeared chapter by chapter in magazines. That is why chapters often end on an unresolved question, why casts are large, and why key traits are restated: readers waited a month between parts.
Reset break
Part 4 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 20
Learn
Industry, reform and readership
Rapid industrial growth, factory and public health reform, and expanding literacy shaped both subject matter and audience. A mill town novel published in this period speaks into an active public argument about working conditions.
Quick check
Part 6 of 20
Quick check
Part 7 of 20
Reset break
Part 8 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 20
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Purpose beyond entertainment
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 20
Learn
Purpose beyond entertainment
Writers frequently intended to move readers towards sympathy or reform. Identify the purpose and you can explain choices: a child observer is used because sympathy travels faster through a child's eyes than a statistic.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 20
Learn
Reading against the grain
Context also lets you notice silences: whose work is never described, who never speaks. A confident response can admire a novel and question what it leaves out.
Reset break
Part 12 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 20
Quick check
Part 14 of 20
Challenge round
Part 15 of 20
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 20
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Rapid industrial growth, factory and public health reform, and expanding literacy shaped both subject matter and ____.
Identify the ____ and you can explain choices: a child observer is used because sympathy travels faster through a child's eyes than a statistic.
____ also lets you notice silences: whose work is never described, who never speaks.
Challenge round
Part 18 of 20
Game · Recall cards
What is iambic pentameter?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 19 of 20
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Social and historical context in the novel
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is iambic pentameter?
2. A character switches from verse into prose in a tense scene. What might this signal?
3. Which is the best reading of ‘a lantern set upon a cliff’ used of a ruler?
4. Why does a soliloquy matter to an audience?
Lesson round-up
Part 20 of 20
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 20 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including whole books and plays, and texts from the English literary heritage
- Not looked at yet
Draw on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs