THE ENGLISH NOVEL IN THE TIME OF SHAKESPEARE BY J. J. JUSSERAND CONSEILLER D'AMBASSADE, DR. ÈS LETTRES TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY ELIZABETH LEE REVISED AND ENLARGED BY THE AUTHOR ILLUSTRATED London T. FISHER UNWIN PATERNOSTER SQUARE MDCCCXC I. Remote origin of the novel-Old historical romances or epics-Beowulf. The French conquest of England in the eleventh ... ... II. Effects of the conquest on the minds of the Chaucer-His lack of influence on later prose novelists -The short prose tales of the French never acclima- III. Printing-Caxton's role -Part allotted to fiction 52 I. The Renaissance and the awakening of a wider curiosity-Travelling in Italy-Ascham's censures II. Italian invasion of England-Italian books trans- lated, Boccaccio, Ariosto, Tasso, &c. English collections of short stories imitated from the III. Learning-Erasmus' judgment and prophecies- The part played by women-They want books written for themselves-Queen Elizabeth, her talk, her tastes, 87 I. "Euphues," a book for women... II. "Euphuism," its foreign origin-How embellished and perfected by Lyly-Fanciful natural history of the III. The plot of the novel-Moral tendencies of IV. Lyly's popularity-Courtly talk of the time— |