Novel Sequence

DEFINITIONS

There is no useful, formal demarcation between novel sequences and multi-part novels. Novels that are related may or may not fall into a clear sequence. It is also debatable whether a Trilogy is long enough and whether its parts are discrete enough to qualify as a novel sequence.

For example the Barchester novels of Anthony Trollope are only loosely related, although they contain a recurring cast of characters; his political novels about the Pallisers have a tighter connection and dynamic. A strict definition might exclude both.

HISTORY

The novel sequence was a product of the nineteenth century, with Fenimore Cooper 's works appearing in the 1820s, and Trollope's Barchester books in the 1850s. In French Literature , Honoré De Balzac 's ambitious '' La Comédie Humaine '' (a set of nearly 100 novels and plays, with some recurring characters) started to come together during the 1830s. Émile Zola 's ''Rougon-Macquart'' cycle is a Family Saga , a format that later became a popular fictional form, going beyond the conventional Three-volume Novel .

The ''roman-fleuve'' (French, literally "river-novel") refers to an extended sequence of novels of which the whole acts as a commentary for a society or an epoch, and which continually deals with a central character, community or a saga within a family. The river metaphor implies a steady, broad dynamic lending itself to a perspective. Each volume makes up a complete novel by itself, but the entire cycle exhibits unifying characteristics.

PROUST

In the Twentieth Century Marcel Proust 's '' À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu '' came to be regarded by many as a definitive ''roman fleuve''. Today, however, its seven volumes are generally considered to be a single novel {Link without Title} . In some serious sense, it escapes classification.

Proust's work was immensely influential, particularly on British novelists of the middle of the twentieth century, who did not favour Modernism . Some of those follow the example of Anthony Powell , a Proust disciple but consciously adapting the technique to depict social change, rather than change in high society. This was a step beyond the realist novels of Arnold Bennett (the '' Clayhanger '' books) or John Galsworthy .

CONTEMPORARY PRESSURES AND NOVEL SEQUENCES

A novel sequence usually contains story arcs or themes that cross over several books, rather than simply sharing one or more characters. Sequences of Genre Fiction are not generally considered ''romans-fleuve''; the '' Aubrey–Maturin Series '' of Patrick O'Brian might qualify, and possibly the '' Vorkosigan Series '' of Lois McMaster Bujold .

Novel sequences, though, are now most common in genre fiction, particularly in Science Fiction and Epic Fantasy . The introduction of the preconstructed novel sequence is often attributed to E. E. Doc Smith , with his '' Lensman '' books. Such sequences, from contemporary authors, tend to be more clearly defined than earlier examples. Authors are now more likely to announce an overall series title, or write in round numbers such as 12 volumes. These characteristics are not those of the classical model forms, and instead become more like the 'franchises' of the film industry.

The types instead begin to fill out a concentric model like

:trilogy < sequence < 'saga' grouping (single author) < Shared Universe < genre.

EXAMPLES

Isaac Asimov 's '' Foundation Series '' was first a series of magazine stories; then a book publication as edited into a trilogy; and then, by the later addition of volumes, a longer sequence that made contact with his '' Robot Series '' books. Finally other authors have added books.

David Brin 's '' Uplift '' series is a set of two trilogies, not (initially) sharing characters.

John Le Carré 's numerous books featuring George Smiley are more novelistic in their technique than most genre fiction, but the organisation is too lax to consider them a sequence, in intent or execution.

J. K. Rowling 's '' Harry Potter '' sequence has combined elements of older School Story ''genre'' convention, and Formula Fiction devices, with a much broader range of allusions and themes. Ursula Le Guin , author of the '' Earthsea '' wizard novels, has criticized Rowling's work, saying that it is less innovative than is sometimes claimed. The degree of organisation applied to the continuity is though something unusual.