Final answer:
The Victorian period saw the novel become widely accessible with the mass production of literature, marking the beginning of modern consumerism and the culture of reading that we know today. Fueled by advancements in printing technology and a rise in literacy, novels played a crucial role in shaping and reflecting society, a trend that continues to endure.
Step-by-step explanation:
Victorian Era: The Rise of Novels
The "novel" opportunity that arose in the Victorian period and still enjoys wild popularity today is the mass production and consumption of novels. This form of literature, which began to gain traction in the eighteenth century, flourished during the Victorian era.
Novels like Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Samuel Richardson's Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded found large audiences and allowed readers, including women, to independently interpret the material without the need for male guidance, although the access to these works was initially limited to a certain class of people.
During the Victorian era, advancements in printing technology led to the transition from costly, carefully treated books to mass-market periodicals, newspapers, and affordable printed materials. This shift was a hallmark of the first modern, industrialized societies, where culture itself began to be mass-produced alongside the increase in literacy and consumerism. As a result, novels became more widely accessible, contributing to the rise of a new cultural phenomenon where the general population engaged with and consumed literature on an unprecedented scale.
The end of the nineteenth century witnessed not only an expansion in the availability of novels but also the birth of modern consumerism. The stories of this time provided insight into rapidly changing societies, and authors like Charles Dickens showcased the reality of the times with exacting detail.
The popularity of novels from this era persists today because they offer adventure, relatable human experiences, and a lens through which to understand historical and contemporary society.