A popular novel of Charlotte Bronte that shows its central character as independent and assertive, while girls of her time were expected to be quiet and well behaved, is:

• Jane Eyre (1847)

• Shirley (1849)

• Villette (1853)

• None of these

Summarise the concern in both nineteenth-century Europe and India about women reading novels. What does this suggest about how women were viewed?

In what ways was the novel in colonial India useful for both the colonisers as well as the nationalists?

Describe how the issue of caste was included in novels in India. By referring to any two novels, discuss the ways in which they tried to make readers think about existing social issues.

Describe the ways in which the novel in India attempted to create a sense of pan-Indian belonging.

Imagine that you are a historian in 3035 A.D. You have just located two novels which were written in the twentieth century. What do they tell you about society and customs of the time?

Novel is a modern form of literature that first took firm root in:

Which of the following statements is not correct?

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

In 1836, a notable event took place when Charles Dicken’s __________was serialised.

Leo Tolstoy was a ___________ novelist.