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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Title Tag: Genre: Social Problem Novel

Description: The following novels depict various social problems (such as alcoholism, factory conditions, governmental policies, or poverty) and characters working to address them. Notable sub-genres of this rather fluid category include factory novels and New Woman fiction.

References: Sutherland

  1. Frances Milton Trollope.  The Life and Adventures of Jonathan Jefferson Whitlaw: or, Scenes on the Mississippi.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1836.
  2. Charles Dickens.  Oliver Twist: or, The Parish Boy's Progress.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1838.
  3. Charles Dickens.  The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.  1 vol.  London: Chapman and Hall, 1839.
  4. Frances Milton Trollope.  Life and Adventures of Michael Armstrong, the Factory Boy.  3 vol.  London: Henry Colburn, 1840.
  5. Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna.  Helen Fleetwood.  1 vol.  London: Seeley, 1841.
  6. Elizabeth Stone.  William Langshawe, the Cotton Lord: A Novel.  2 vol.  London: Bentley, 1842.
  7. Frances Milton Trollope.  Jessie Phillips: A Tale of the Present Day.  3 vol.  London: Henry Colburn, 1843.
  8. Charles Dickens.  A Christmas Carol in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.  1 vol.  London: Chapman and Hall, 1843.
  9. Benjamin Disraeli.  Sybil: or, The Two Nations.  3 vol.  London: Henry Colburn, 1845.
  10. James Malcolm Rymer.  The White Slave: A Romance of the Nineteenth Century.  1 vol.  London: Edward Lloyd, 1845.
  11. Charles Rowcroft.  Fanny, the Little Milliner: or, The Rich and the Poor.  1 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1846.
  12. William Gresley.  Colton Green: A Tale of the Black Country.  1 vol.  London: James Burns, 1846.
  13. Charlotte Brontë.  Jane Eyre: An Autobiography.  3 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1847.
  14. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell.  Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life.  2 vol.  London: Chapman and Hall, 1848.
  15. Charles Dickens.  Dombey and Son.  1 vol.  London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848.
  16. Charlotte Brontë.  Shirley: A Tale.  3 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1849.
  17. Charles Kingsley.  Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet: An Autobiography.  2 vol.  London: Chapman and Hall, 1850.
  18. Charles Dickens.  The Personal History of David Copperfield.  1 vol.  London: Bradbury and Evans, 1850.
  19. Geraldine Endsor Jewsbury.  Marian Withers.  3 vol.  London: Henry Colburn, 1851.
  20. Charles Kingsley.  Yeast: A Problem.  1 vol.  London: John W. Parker, 1851.
  21. Hannah Dorothy Burdon.  Masters and Workmen: A Tale Illustrative of the Social and Moral Condition of the People.  3 vol.  London: T. C. Newby, 1851.
  22. Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Uncle Tom's Cabin.  1 vol.  London: Cassell, 1852.
  23. Charles Dickens.  Bleak House.  1 vol.  London: Bradbury and Evans, 1853.
  24. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell.  Ruth: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Chapman and Hall, 1853.
  25. Charles Dickens.  Hard Times: For These Times.  1 vol.  London: Bradbury and Evans, 1854.
  26. Catherine Gore.  Progress and Prejudice.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1854.
  27. Harriet Parr.  Maude Talbot: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1854.
  28. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell.  North and South.  2 vol.  London: Chapman and Hall, 1855.
  29. Anthony Trollope.  The Warden.  1 vol.  London: Longman, 1855.
  30. Charles Reade.  It is Never too Late to Mend: A Matter of Fact Romance.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1856.
  31. Charles Dickens.  Little Dorrit.  1 vol.  London: Bradbury and Evans, 1857.
  32. Herbert Glyn.  The Cotton Lord.  2 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1862.
  33. Charles Reade.  Hard Cash: A Matter-of-Fact Romance.  3 vol.  London: Sampson Low, 1863.
  34. George Eliot.  Felix Holt, the Radical.  3 vol.  Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1866.
  35. Charles Reade.  Put Yourself in His Place.  3 vol.  London: Smith, Elder, 1870.
  36. Isabella Banks.  The Manchester Man.  3 vol.  London: Hurst and Blackett, 1872.
  37. Lalla McDowell.  The Earl of Effingham: A Novel.  1 vol.  London: Samuel Tinsley, 1877.
  38. Walter Besant.  All Sorts and Conditions of Men: An Impossible Story.  3 vol.  London: Chatto and Windus, 1882.
  39. William Bury Westall.  Birch Dene: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Ward and Downey, 1889.
  40. Anne Elliot.  Evelyn's Career: A Novel.  3 vol.  London: Bentley, 1891.
  41. William Hale White.  Catharine Furze: A Novel.  2 vol.  London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1893.