"Making the Novel" advances a new cultural reading of the formation of the British novel. Rejecting a teleological narrative of the genre's 'rise', the study examines pre-Defovian fiction, anti-novel discourse, the Richardson-Fielding rivalry, mid-century experimentalism, Sterne and sentimental fiction, representations of Britain, and the creation of a national canon. Through close analysis of key texts, the authors present a dynamic picture of the emergence of the novel, which focuses upon formal innovation, social engagement, and artistic and commercial competition.