The Art of the Novella
A novella is a short work of fiction. It is film for the mind – short enough to read in one sitting, with large enough stories to provide an intensely satisfying read.
"The novella is the sister of drama." Theodor Storm, German writer 1817-1888
"To reduce the novella to nothing more than a short novel is like saying a pony is a baby horse.” George Fetherling, Canadian poet and novelist
"The novella is one of the richest and most rewarding of literary forms... it allows for more extended development of theme and character than does the short story, without making the elaborate structural demands of the full-length book. Thus it provides an intense, detailed exploration of its subject." Robert Silverberg, American Science Fiction author
A Short History of the Novella
The novella is an ancestor of the modern novel. One Thousand and One Nights, written in the 10th century, is one of the earliest examples of serialised novellas. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1386-1400) followed suit.
During the Renaissance it developed into a literary genre in France and Italy. The Decameron (1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio and Heptaméron (1559) by the French Queen, Marguerite de Navarre, are two outstanding examples.
Then in the late 18th and early 19th century the novella became fashionable in Germany. The Black Spider (1842) by Jeremais Gotthelf and Immensee (1849) by Theodor Storm still make haunting reads today.
Novella Resources
Briefly, the case for the novella by George Fetherling
The Novella – guidance notes by Mantex
Can the novella save literature? Guardian blog by Jean Hannah Edelstein
European Novellas: short cut to nowhere? Guardian article by Richard Lea
Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Write Novellas by Gregory Feeley
The Sweetness of Short Novels by Ingrid Norton
The Novella & Film
There are many examples of great novellas across the years. And film makers love to borrow their stories. Here are some famous films based on novellas:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Coraline by Neil Gaiman