The novel of manners is a sub-genre of the realist novel which deals with aspects of behaviour, language, customs and values characteristic of a particular class of people in a specific historical context. The novel of manners often shows a conflict between individual aspirations or desires and the accepted social codes of behaviour. There's a vital relationship between manners, social behaviour and character.

Well known examples of the novel of manners include: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma; William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair , Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust and Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence,The House of Mirth, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

[edit] References

• Andrzej Diniejko (2004). Introduction to the Study of Literature. Wydawnictwo Akademii Swietokrzyskiej.