The 22 most important types of novel: their characteristics and themes

There are all kinds of novels, especially when we talk about their literary genres. There are love, detective, utopian, science fiction, adventure... and, furthermore, they can be of more than one genre at the same time.

Whatever their genre, they may have been written with the clear intention of having many sales or to succeed in the literary world and become a classic.

Next let's see a summary of the types of novel that we can find, focusing above all on the novel genres that exist (and the literary characteristics associated with each of them) and, secondly, classifying them according to other criteria.

• Related article: "The 16 types of books that exist (according to different criteria)"

The main types of novel

There are thousands of novels, each exposing us a different story. Writers combine all kinds of elements from several different genres to bring us stories that captivate us, causing us all kinds of feelings and sensations such as hope, faith in love, fear of what unknown, anger at social injustices or joy and surprise when discovering all kinds of worlds fantastic.

Next let's see the types of novels that exist. Before entering their genres, we are going to talk about novels according to the type of market they are directed to, that is, if they are commercial or if they are more artistic novels.

Later we will talk about the novels based on the veracity of the facts that are exposed in them, that is, if they are based on real events or if they are pure fiction. The rest of the types of novels from there refer to their literary genre.

Business novels and literary novels

Before entering the genre of novels itself, we can mention the two types of novels that exist depending on its reception in the market.

On the one hand we have commercial novels, which are those that aim to generate high sales. It is a phenomenon associated with consumer society, and it is not restricted to any specific genre of novel. Among commercial novels we find the "best sellers", the name by which those novels that manage to sell many books are known. Nowadays it is also easy to find titles authored by famous people on the Internet, for whom writing is not one of their main occupations.

On the other hand we have literary novels, which are closer to creating art than being created to win sales. They are not intended to reach a large readership or to achieve great success from a marketing point of view, but at most to be accepted by the canons of literature and become a work of art from the criteria of its own Author.

Both types of novels are not totally exclusive, since a great novel in literary terms can end up being very sold and it can also happen that a novel that was devised for the sole purpose of having many sales may also be very well received by critics literary.

Novels based on true events and fictional novels

According to the veracity of their facts, novels can be considered as fictional novels or novels based on real events. These two types of novels They are not genres per se but rather refer to how true it is that we can read in them.

On the one hand we have the fictional novels narrate events that did not happen in reality, being the product of the author's imagination. They can be of any genre: romantic, science fiction, epic... On the other hand we have novels based on real events, which narrate events that really happened.

Normally they are usually historical, autobiographical and epistolary novels, although they can also be romantic, chivalric, picaresque novels and of any other type that comes to mind.

Types of novels according to genre

Taking into account the genres of novels is one of the common ways to classify these works. Looking at this criterion, let's see what the types of novels are.

1. Realist novel

The realistic novel, which is not based on real events, is a genre that was widely developed in Spain in the mid-nineteenth century. It is characterized by presenting a narrative in which the reality of everyday circumstances and various social events is very clearly reflected. In these novels, the author's objective gaze to describe and expose the reality of a certain moment also stands out.

Among some of the novels of this genre we can mention:

• Fortunata and Jacinta (1887), by Benito Pérez Galdós.
• Madame Bovary (1857), by Gustave Flaubert.
• Mountain scenes (1864) and Sotileza (1885), by José María Pereda.
• The three-cornered hat (1874), by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón.

2. Short novel

The short novel is halfway between the short story and the normal long novel. The short novel is made up of the same elements as the novel, however, due to its short length, characters, plot, settings and their descriptions are shorter and less developed.

Here we can find novels of all genres that we have explained before, taking as examples:

• "The colonel has no one to write to him" (1957), by Gabriel García Márquez.
• "Christmas Tales" (1843), by Charles Dickens.
• "The metamorphosis" (1915), by Franz Kafka.
• "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1958), by Truman Capote.
• "The Stranger" (1942), by Albert Camus

3. Epistolary novel

Epistolary novels are those in which the story is told through various documents such as telegrams, diaries, phonograph transcriptions, newspaper articles..., although as a general rule these types of novels are usually composed only of letters.

In this type of novel it is narrated in the third person and how personal documents are used the The writing is similar to an autobiographical novel due to the narrator's participation in the story. They are characterized by having an intimate, true character, presenting a conflictive situation in a very vivid way.

An example of an epistolary novel that includes several types of documents is the case of "Dracula" (1887) by Bram Stocker, considered one of the most important novels of the genre. Other novels that correspond to this particular genre are:

• "The Advantages of Being Invisible" (2012) by Stephen Chbosky
• "Love Letters to the Dead" (2014) by Ava Dellaira
• "The purple color" (1983) by Alice Walker.
• "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001) by Helen Fielding.

4. Historical novel

As the name suggests, historical novels are those that describe events in the past and historically important. For a book to be considered a historical novel it is necessary that the events narrated in it belong to a period prior to the one described. To understand it better, if a novel of the year 2020 is set in 2019 it is not historical since it has been written at the same time it is written.

The author tries to recreate historical events, transforming real life people into characters, either by making him behave according to how he really did it or by taking the odd license creative, that is, describing real or fictional stories, as long as they are located in a moment real historical.

In case the story described in the novel is real, the author must rely on arguments and data relevant to the era he is trying to describe and the historical figures he has introduced into his novel.

Some examples of historical novels are found in:

• "The name of the rose" (1980), by Umberto Eco.

• "The Cursed Kings" (1955-1977), saga by Maurice Druon

• "The Goat Party" (2000), by Mario Vargas Llosa

• You may be interested in: "The 5 differences between myth and legend"

5. Autobiographical novel

Autobiographical novels are those in which the author himself shares the events of his life. The author talks about her life trajectory, capturing it in a novelistic way and detailing those events that have left their mark such as her achievements, her failures, her illnesses, losses, romances and the rest. She opens up to the public sharing her most intimate world.

Among the novels of this genre we find:

• "Memoirs of a formal young woman" (1958), by Virginia Wolf.
• "I know why he sings the caged bird" (1969), by Maya Angelou.
• "The invisible man" (1952), by Ralph Ellison.
• "David Copperfield" (1849) and "Great Expectations" (1861), by Charles Dickens
• "Confessions" (397-398), by Augustine of Hippo.
• "Live to tell it" (2002), by Gabriel García Márquez.

6. Training novel

In the training novels the psychological and emotional development of a character is worked on as they go by the events of history. This genre is German, originally called "bildungsroman" ("novel of education or growth") coined by the philologist Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern in 1819.

In them, three stages are usually distinguished: youth, pilgrimage and improvement. The novel can expose the entire life of the character or simply a period of it, but the key point is that it shows how it changes during that time. Among the novels that we can find of this curious genre are.

• "The Catcher in the Rye" (1951), by J. D. Salinger
• "Jane Eyre" (1847), by Charlotte Brönte
• "The Magic Mountain" (1924), by Thomas Mann
• "David Copperfield" (1849), by Charles Dickens.

7. Science fiction novel

Science fiction novels depict a hypothetical world, a place that is speculated might be like this if it happened a series of events that will modify the world as we know it. Novels within this genre usually start from the idea of ​​"What would happen if ???" mixing it with technological and strange elements. What if the aliens invaded the earth? What would happen if a virus exterminated us? What if we evolved several new species of hominids?

They usually talk about space travel, aliens, human evolution, end of the world, extinction and, also make use of concepts from the physical sciences, artificial life and intelligence robotics. It is for all this that its protagonists can be human beings, robots, aliens or crypto-animals.

This genre is especially successful and among them we can find:

• "The war of the worlds" (1898), by H. G. Wells
• "Ender's Game" (1985), by Orson Scott Card
• "The Age of Diamond: An Illustrated Manual for Young Ladies" (1995), by Neal Stephenson.

8. Dystopian or anti-utopian novel

Dystopian novels are usually set in a more or less distant future in which there are technologically advanced societies and apparently perfect, however, they hide defects which will emerge as progress is made in the plot. They are also known as anti-utopian novels because they oppose utopia, that is, a perfect world. The vast majority of novels in this genre are science fiction, although they don't always have to.

Among the most notable that we can find we have:

• "1984" (1949), by George Orwell
• "Fahrenheit 451" (1953), by Ray Bradbury,
• Brave New World (1932), by Aldous Huxley
• "Do Androids Dream of Mechanical Sheep?" (1968), by Philip K. Dick

9. Utopian novel

Utopian novels are antagonistic to dystopian ones as can be assumed from their name. They present societies that are perfectThe one that is considered to be the one that started this genre is the novel “Utopia” (1516), by Tomas Moro, who actually coined the term “utopia” (from the Greek “ou” and “topos”; "nowhere"). Other examples of utopian novels:

• "Walden two" (1984), by Burrhus Frederic Skinner.
• "The New Atlantis" (1627), Francis Bacon
• "The Island" (1962), by Aldous Huxley

10. Fantasy novel

Fantasy novels take place in imaginary worlds, just like science fiction and dystopian novels. Nevertheless its central theme is magic having all kinds of creatures with magical powers as characters as witches, wizards, fairies and mythological animals of all kinds.

Some of the best known fantasy novel books and sagas are:

• "Harry Potter" (1997-2007), by J. K. Rowling,
• "The Lord of the Rings" (1954), by J. R. R. Tolkien
• "The Chronicles of Narnia" (1950-1956), by C. S. Lewis,
• "The Alchemist: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" (2007), by Michael Scott
• "Peter Pan" (1904), by James Barry.
• "Memories of Idhún" (2004), by Laura Gallego García.

11. Detective novel

In detective novels their protagonists are usually members of the police or collaborators of this body, either a detective or investigator trying to solve a crime. Agatha Christie is a benchmark in this genre along with author Arthur Conan Doyle.

Among Agatha Christie's novels we find:

• "The mystery of the blue train" (1928)
• "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1920)
• "Murder on the golf course" (1923)

Among those of Conan Doyle we have:

• "Study in Scarlet" (1887)
• "The sign of the four" (1890)
• "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1891-1892)

12. Pulp fiction novel

Pulp fiction novels are a somewhat curious genre, since more than a literary genre it would be a type of book format, with which they can be of any other of the genres that we have spoken.

Pulp fiction novels refer to a type of printing typical of the 20th century that was very economical and that allowed the mass consumption of these texts. It is considered that this type of novel gave rise to others, especially the detective and science fiction. In addition, the term "pulp fiction" used to be used in a derogatory way to refer to minor works consumed by the common people, and that therefore would not constitute a form of high culture.

Some novels of this genre are:

• "The call of Cthulhu" (1926), by Howard Phillip Lovecraft.
• "Tarzan and the Apes" (1914), by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
• "The Curse of Capistrano" (1919), by Johnston McCulley.

13. Horror novel

Horror novels are intended to cause fear in the reader. They are characterized by telling dark, gloomy stories that leave no one indifferent. Although they generate an unpleasant emotion in most people, these novels are written in a way in which our curiosity to know how it will end prevents us from closing the book. Within this genre we have as references the novels of Stephen King and, also those of Howard Phillip Lovecraft.

Among Stephen King's novels we find:

• "The Shining" (1977)
• "Eyes of Fire" (1980)
• "That" (1986)

Among those of Lovecraft we have:

"In the crypt" (1925) "The strange house raised in the mist" (1926)

14. Mystery novel

Mystery novels usually focus on solving a crime, generally a murder, which is related to the detective novel but it is not the same. While all detective novels are mysteries, not all mysteries are detective, since the characters who have to solve what has happened may not be members of the police, but people from the street, children, an old woman, priests ...

In this genre we would find:

• "The name of the rose", (1980) by Umberto Eco.
• "The girl on the train" (2015), by Paula Hawkins.

15. Gothic novel

Mysterious, supernatural, and horror elements are included in Gothic novels. They drink some fantasy novels, horror novels and mystery novels, dealing with dark topics like death, decadence, and the inevitable tragedies. The most common environments that we can find in this type of novels are old castles, haunted houses, cemeteries, demonized churches ...

Among the most notable novels of this genre we can find:

• "Dracula" (1897), by Bram Stoker.
• "Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus" (1823), by Mary Shelley.
• "The vampire" (1819), by John William Polidori.
• "The Castle of Otranto" (1764), by Horace Walpole.
• "The Monk" (1796), by Matthew G. Lewis.

16. Cowboy novel

Cowboy novels or "westerns" are stories that They are usually set in the far west of the United States, narrating the events that took place in the nineteenth century in which American whites were conquering lands fighting the Native Americans, establishing their ranches and exercising their peculiar local justice. An example of this genre is "The Virginian" (1902), by Owen Wister.

17. Picaresque novel

The picaresque novels they narrate the adventures of an antihero or an antiheroine, who fall into this category for not following the customs of their time. As its name suggests, its protagonists are rogues, that is, cunning, rascal and prone to bad life, although not necessarily against society in general. They usually include elements of the daily life of the 16th century and their objective is to criticize the customs of the time by making satire of them.

The picaresque novel was especially important in Spain arising in its Golden Age and it is considered that the first novel of this genre it was "El lazarillo de Tormes" (1564) by anonymous authorship, although it would be the works of Mateo Alemán that would give popularity to the novel picaresque. Two other notable novels of this genre are found in "The Life of the Buscón" (1626) by Francisco de Quevedo and "The ingenious hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha" (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes.

18. Satirical novel

Satirical novels intend to ridicule a particular item to provoke a change of opinion in the reader. They show the author's opinion regarding a particular situation and, generally, they intend to propose an alternative that he considers could improve it.

We have some of the examples of satirical novels in:

• "Rebellion on the Farm" (1945), by George Orwell
• "Gulliver's Travels" (1927), by Jonathan Swift
• "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884), by Mark Twain.
• "Survivor" (2000), by Chuck Palahniuk

19. Adventure novel

In adventure novels there are stories in which the characters go to unknown places, seeking to experience something new or discover a new world. In them, a long odyssey often begins, wrapped in all kinds of mysteries and dangers, although, also, love relationships are started and great wealth is gained.

The characters in these novels are risk-takers, brave, daring, and have no qualms about venturing into the unknown. Action is a recurring theme in adventure novels.

Some examples of this type of novel are:

• "Robinson Crusoe" (1719), by Daniel Defoe,
• "Treasure Island" (1883), by Robert Louis Stevenson

20. Romance novel

In romance novels, a love story unfolds that, as a rule, has a happy ending. Its main plot is full of descriptions of the emotions of the protagonists in their love affair, describing how their infatuation process begins, how they sneakily see each other in the middle of the night to that nobody stops their love and how their families and rivals face so that the relationship does not continue ahead.

Among the most remarkable novels of this genre we have

• Wuthering Heights (1847), by Emily Brontë
• "The Bridges of Madison" (1992) by Robert James Waller
• "Love in times of cholera" (1985), by Gabriel García Márquez.

21. Chivalric novel

The chivalric novel deepens its roots in the fifteenth century and are characterized by recounting the exploits and heroism of brave knights who used to face each other in deeds to prove their worth, in addition to entering without any fear in the bloodiest battles. They are also novels in which the multiple adversities that they experience throughout their lives are described.

The knight, the main character of the novel, is a brave man, with great courage and capable of taking any risk and fighting whenever necessary, but not in a brute and mindless way since, too, he is an intelligent man, cunning and with great honor.

Among the novels of this genre we find:

• "Tirante el Blanco" (1490), by Joanot Martorell.
• "Amadís de Gaula" (1515), by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo
• "Ruodlieb" (circa 1030), of unclear authorship.

Curiously, centuries later the knightly novels would be demystified with the publication of the Quixote de Cervantes, which many consider a very intelligent mockery and parody of this gender.

22. Allegorical novel

Allegorical novels are those in which the story serves to refer to another situation, the plot of the text having a symbolic meaning. It is necessary to read between the lines to understand what the author refers to and they are often used as criticisms and religious, historical, social, philosophical and political reflections.

Some examples of this genre are:

• "Lord of the Flies" (1954) by William Golding
• "The Chronicles of Narnia" (1950-1956) by C. S. Lewis
• "Farm Rebellion" (1945) by George Orwell

There are other forms of novel genres

We must not let this conventional way of classifying novel genres get in the way of our interpretation of a work; There are several forms of literature that, despite being considered a novel, do not fully fit with any of the concepts that we have seen so far.

For example, there are fiction books that make use of the possibility for the reader to choose how the story continues, texts called fanfic that are about all stories created by fans of other books, series or movies, and there are also video games that are mixed with the novel format (or vice versa). In all these cases, it must be taken into account that the literary genre is a resource to group and understand certain literary phenomena, and novels do not serve genres, but vice versa.