Novels became popular from the 18th century in Europe. (i) The number of readership increased as new groups of lower middle-class people such as shopkeepers and clerks, along with the traditional aristocratic and gentlemanly classes in England formed the new readership for novels. (ii) As readership grew, markets for books expanded, the earnings of authors increased. They now had the freedom to experiment with different literary styles. They were no longer dependent on the patronage of the aristocrats. The novel allowed flexibility in form of writing. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela was an epistolary novel; Walter Scott wrote historical novels and Henry Fielding wrote Tom Jones and called himself a founder of new province of writing. The different styles and experiments added to the popularity of the novel. (iii) Third and most important was that technological improvements brought down the price of books. The novel became the first mass produced item to be sold. The world created by novels was absorbing, believable and seemingly real. People could read them in private or in public and have a group discussion.