A distinguished book recognised as one of the finest critical histories of the English novel. The author, Walter Allen, was an English novelist whose work included'All In A Lifetime', 'Dead Man Over All' and 'Innocence Is Drowned'; and a writer and critic whose literary studies included a second volume on the novel,'Tradition and Dream' and a unique history of the short story in English. Here he tells the story of the novel and storytelling from Bunyan through to all the great writers of fiction to the two 20th century giants, D. H. Lawrence and James Joyce. The passage of time may have made this work appear outdated, but it still has a role to play in any debate on the subject of the novel.