{"product_id":"a-history-of-the-novel-in-britain","title":"A History of the Novel in Britain","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e**Pre Order - Published 3rd September 2026** \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this illuminating new history of both an art and an industry, Philip Hensher describes how the evolutionary scramble by writers and publishers to get attention drove constant innovation in writing techniques, and produced new ways of printing, distributing, and selling books. Over the course of three hundred years, these creative and commercial forces shaped the novel’s form and its future, from Daniel Defoe to Zadie Smith. Reading widely across the famous, the once famous and the utterly (if unfairly) forgotten, this is a work of investigative verve that makes a serious case for widening the canon.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut it is also a gift: Hensher has read untold thousands of books, and A History of the Novel in Britain is his hoard of treasure, waiting to be discovered, wondered at and delighted in.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wigtown Festival Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55814038225281,"sku":null,"price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0429\/8116\/3166\/files\/9780241558140.jpg?v=1781775361","url":"https:\/\/bookshop.wigtownbookfestival.com\/products\/a-history-of-the-novel-in-britain","provider":"Wigtown Festival Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}