How do literary critics distinguish between 'story' and 'plot', or between a symbol and an image - or between 'tone' and 'mood'? How do we define 'realism', 'modernism', and 'postmodernism'? What do narrative theorists mean by 'frequency' and 'distance'? In the revised, expanded and updated fourth edition of this standard introduction to the novel, these questions and many others are answered in a way that is readable and entertaining without being simplistic. Building on the huge success of previous editions, this new text for English undergraduates taking courses on the novel is much more user-friendly, with a more structured approach, chapter sumnmaries and information on study skills. It will also include a useful glossary of key terms.