Andrew Green on
The American, but adoptive English writer, Henry James famously described the lengthy Victorian novels of Dickens, Trollope and others as 'large, loose, baggy monsters'.
Here are some things to think about:
1) How far do you think this is a fair criticism? Think about the structures of these novels and consider the ways in which the writers control (or lose control) of their tales.
2) In what ways does the medium of journal publication - the typical means of first publication of most Victorian fiction - lead to different requirements in terms of structuring of these tales? (Always remembering that James was himself often published in journal serial form.)
3) James was a late Victorian/Edwardian author. In what ways does his own work build on and/or challenge the literary world of earlier Victorian writers such as Dickens or Trollope?