What was the first novel ever written?

Did you know that the origin of the novel is a widely debated topic? While the general definition of the novel as a literary genre of lengthy fictional prose is widely accepted, scholars disagree about what counts as the first novel ever written. Traditionally, the first appearance of the novel is said to have been in the 18th century. But, depending on which definition is used, the novel’s roots can be traced back thousands of years. Ancient Roman stories such as Petronius’s Satyricon, from the 1st century CE, used prose and stylistic elements resembling modern novels, a departure from other genres of the period such as epic poetry. Over time, other pieces of long-form fiction appeared around the world. Some scholars have proclaimed works such as Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji… …and Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote as the first novels because of their down-to-earth chronicles of human experience. However, others have argued that the first true novel was Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, which appeared in 18th-century Europe. That book was the first in a wave of novels, a genre whose popularity may have stemmed in part from readers’ ability to relate to the content. Today the novel has evolved to contain a variety of styles and genres. But, regardless of its exact origins, the novel has come a long way to become the most popular literary form in modern times.