Ans: Victorian age (1837-1901) is one of the most fruitful periods in the history of English literature. It was in the Victorian era that the novel became the leading literary genre in English. Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, three Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy are major Victorian novelists.

The huge bulk of Victorian literature is mainly made of novels of the age. The Victorian novel certainly constitutes a golden phase in the history of English literature. The celebrated Victorian novelists — Dickens, Thackeray, Trollope, Hardy, Emily, and Charlotte Bronte actually carry on the tradition. Among them, Dickens and Hardy are very popular and much-read novelists.

The Victorian era is known for the galaxy of novelists but the two most important male novelists who yet are quite important are Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy stand out without parallel in English.

The novels of Dickens give us comprehensive pictures of contemporary life. Dickens is an entertaining storyteller. They are so entertaining that children still love to read and enjoy a novel by Dickens. Dickens’ plot structure may well be mentioned. His plot is no doubt bulky but he manages this well and retains the suspense of his story till the end. Characterization is an important aspect of the art of a novelist and Dickens is a master of the art of characterization. He has created a host of unforgettable men and women.

Dickens is a prolific author to whose credit is found a long list of novels including Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, The Old Curiosity Shop, Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, etc. His greatness as a literary man lies not in the bulk of his production but in the immense range of his contributions to the world of fiction.

Dickens has shown interest in social reformation. His novel through embody no particular social or political theory, he took himself seriously as a social reformer. His novels aroused public interest in many of the evils of his days. Most of his works deal with the social problems of the age. Class consciousness becomes apparent in his novel.

Thomas Hardy is one of few writers who made a significant contribution to English literature in the form of novels, poetry, and short story. The novelist in him belongs to the last phase of Victorian literature. He is the maker of the novels of nature and a sort of tragic pessimism overshadows his works which are mostly related to English life and popularly called the Wessex novels. His philosophy of life expressed in his fiction is somber and this bears out his tragic vision or view of life.

His novels of note include Far from the Madding Crowd, The Return of Nature, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and many more.

The first quality of Hardy as a novelist is found in his art of storytelling. He is primarily a storyteller. His novels are made profound with his philosophic views. His originality as a novelist is well-struck in his philosophic outlook which is basically tragic.

Hardy’s plot and plot structure as seen in his great novels are commendable. His characters are mostly simple, straightforward men and women, brought up in the blossom of nature. Nevertheless, his characters are nowhere flat but developed well in the course of events. The primitive human nature with its strength and weakness is Hardy’s concept of life. His heroes and heroines are presented from this angle. His tragic heroes possess the stature of classical heroes in their struggles, shortcoming, and suffering.

In fact, Hardy’s novels are bold attempts to harmonize action and characterization. He tells the story of human life as well as the human mind and thereby produces an impressive effect. The presentation of tense dramatic situations and the effective employment of dramatic ironies serve to heighten particularly the tragic effectiveness of his plot. Far from the Madding Crowd, The Mayor of Casterbridge and Tess of D’Urbervilles well illustrate all this.

Finally, it may be said that Dickens and Hardy well represent the Victorian world of fiction.