Learn something new every day More Info... by email Most British
fiction can be classified as at least one of a long list of
genres, ranging from the historical to the gothic and science
fiction. There is no comprehensive list of all of the different
genres of British fiction, in large part because different
scholars recognize different genres. Nevertheless, there are ten
fairly standard genres of British fiction that most scholars
acknowledge. These are the Bildungsroman, or formation novel,
the historical novel, the regional or provincial novel, the
novel of manners, the gothic novel, the industrial novel, the
adventure novel, the romance novel, the science fiction novel,
and the detective or mystery novel. Genre in British fiction, as
in all types of fiction, is a means of categorizing work based
on style. A work's genre tells readers something about its
setting, its contents, and the perspective from which it is
written. A historical novel, for instance, tells a story that is
based on truth and takes plac