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The arts

The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompasses multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing, and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both dynamic and a characteristically constant feature of human life, they have developed into innovative, stylized, and sometimes intricate forms. This is often achieved through sustained and deliberate study, training, and/or theorizing within a particular tradition, across generations, and even between civilizations. The arts are a vehicle through which human beings cultivate distinct social, cultural, and individual identities while transmitting values, impressions, judgements, ideas, visions, spiritual meanings, patterns of life, and experiences across time and space. (Full article...)

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Omayra Sánchez Garzón (August 28, 1972 – November 16, 1985) was a Colombian girl trapped and killed by a landslide when she was 13 years old. (Full article...)
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Tintin in Tibet (French: Tintin au Tibet) is the twentieth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from September 1958 to November 1959 in Tintin magazine and published as a book in 1960. Hergé considered it his favourite Tintin adventure and an emotional effort, as he created it while suffering from traumatic nightmares and a personal conflict while deciding to leave his wife of three decades for a younger woman. The story tells of the young reporter Tintin in search of his friend Chang Chong-Chen, who the authorities claim has died in a plane crash in the Himalayas. Convinced that Chang has survived and accompanied only by Snowy, Captain Haddock and the Sherpa guide Tharkey, Tintin crosses the Himalayas to the plateau of Tibet, along the way encountering the mysterious Yeti. (Full article...)
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Neuer Hauptbau and Blooming Baroque gardens from south

Ludwigsburg Palace, nicknamed the "Versailles of Swabia", is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings located in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its total area, including the gardens, is 32 ha (79 acres) – the largest palatial estate in the country. The palace has four wings: the northern wing, the Alter Hauptbau, is the oldest and was used as a residence of the Duke of Württemberg; the east and west wings were used for court purposes and housing guests and courtiers; the southern wing, the Neuer Hauptbau, was built to house more court functions and was later used as a residence. (Full article...)
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First edition cover (1843)

A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. In the process, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. (Full article...)
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Cover of the score, 1919

The Bartered Bride (Czech: Prodaná nevěsta, The Sold Bride) is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863 to 1866, and first performed at the Provisional Theatre, Prague, on 30 May 1866 in a two-act format with spoken dialogue. Set in a country village and with realistic characters, it tells the story of how, after a late surprise revelation, true love prevails over the combined efforts of ambitious parents and a scheming marriage broker. (Full article...)
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Top: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Bottom (left to right): Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov and Anatoly Lyadov

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's relations with the group of composers known as the Belyayev circle, which lasted from 1887 until Tchaikovsky's death in 1893, influenced all of their music and briefly helped shape the next generation of Russian composers. This group was named after timber merchant Mitrofan Belyayev, an amateur musician who became an influential music patron and publisher after he had taken an interest in Alexander Glazunov's work. By 1887, Tchaikovsky was firmly established as one of the leading composers in Russia. A favorite of Tsar Alexander III, he was widely regarded as a national treasure. He was in demand as a guest conductor in Russia and Western Europe, and in 1890 visited the United States in the same capacity. By contrast, the fortunes of the nationalistic group of composers known as The Five, which preceded the Belyayev circle, had waned, and the group had long since dispersed; of its members, only Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov remained fully active as a composer. Now a professor of musical composition and orchestration at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Rimsky-Korsakov had become a firm believer in the Western-based compositional training that had been once frowned upon by the group. (Full article...)
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Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale University and a champion of high culture, including the adoption of a transatlantic accent, similar to that of Grammer's portrayal of Dr. Frasier Crane from the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier. He began his career as a sidekick on Krusty the Clown's television show, but after enduring constant abuse, Bob framed his employer for armed robbery in "Krusty Gets Busted", only to be foiled by Bart Simpson, and sent to prison. Bob started seeking revenge against Bart while in prison, and the two became feuding arch-enemies. (Full article...)
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Hellraiser: Judgment is a 2018 American horror film written and directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe, based on the characters created by Clive Barker. The tenth installment in the Hellraiser film series, the film stars Damon Carney, Randy Wayne, Alexandra Harris, Heather Langenkamp, and Paul T. Taylor, and centers on three police detectives who, investigating a series of murders, are confronted by the denizens of hell. The film expands the fictional universe by introducing a new faction of hell: the Stygian Inquisition. While the Cenobites offer sadomasochistic pleasures to humans that enter their dominion, the Inquisition processes the souls of sinners. Tunnicliffe plays the Inquisition's auditor, a prominent role in the film. (Full article...)
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The Wrestlers, (William Etty, c. 1840)
53.5 by 68.6 cm (21.1 by 27.0 in), York Art Gallery

The Wrestlers is an oil painting on millboard by English artist William Etty, painted around 1840 and currently in the York Art Gallery, in York, England. It depicts a wrestling match between a black man and a white man, both glistening with sweat and under an intense light emphasising their curves and musculature. While little documentation of the painting exists prior to 1947, it is likely that it was painted over a period of three evenings at the life class of the Royal Academy. (Full article...)
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Front side of the main complex

Angkor Wat (/ˌæŋkɔːr ˈwɒt/; Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m²; 402 acres) within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor, it is considered as the largest religious structure in the world by Guinness World Records. Originally constructed in 1150 CE as a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Vishnu, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century. (Full article...)
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Holland at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con

Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award and three Saturn Awards. He featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most popular actors of his generation. (Full article...)
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The Simpsons Game is a 2007 platform game based on the animated television series The Simpsons made for the Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. The game was published and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North America in October 2007 and worldwide in November 2007, a few months after The Simpsons Movie. It features an original storyline, not related to the movie, written by Simpsons writers Tim Long and Matt Warburton. In the self-referential plot, the family discovers that they are forced to participate in another The Simpsons video game. Similar to the show, the game pokes fun at popular culture, many other video games, and Electronic Arts, its publisher. (Full article...)
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The Blind Leading the Blind, Blind, or The Parable of the Blind (Dutch: De parabel der blinden) is a painting by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, completed in 1568. Executed in distemper on linen canvas, it measures 86 cm × 154 cm (34 in × 61 in). It depicts the Biblical parable of the blind leading the blind from the Gospel of Matthew 15:14, and is in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy. (Full article...)
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"The most comfortable house in England"

Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house is listed as Grade II* and the landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. (Full article...)
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Fôrça Bruta (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈfoʁsɐ ˈbɾutɐ] ) is the seventh studio album by Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Jorge Ben. It was recorded with the Trio Mocotó band and released by Philips Records in September 1970. Conceived at a time of political tension in dictatorial Brazil, its title comes from the Portuguese term meaning "brute force" and has been interpreted ironically due to the music's relatively relaxed style. (Full article...)

More featured articles

Featured pictures

Featured pictures about The arts.

Image 1Doorway from Moutiers-Saint-Jean, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 2Stucco relief drawing at Maya civilization, by Ricardo Almendáriz (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 3First page of Codex Mendoza, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 4Madonna and child at Chiaroscuro], by Bartolomeo Coriolano (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 5"Wikipedian Protester" at xkcd, by Randall Munroe (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 6Fliteline medallion of Gemini 9A, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 7Grant of Arms at Spanish heraldry, unknown author (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 8Autochrome nude study, by Arnold Genthe (edited by Chick Bowen) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 9Poster for the United States National Park Service at Federal Art Project, by Frank S. Nicholson (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 10Madonna, by Edvard Munch (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 11The Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus, by Antonio da Trento (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 12Gin Lane at Gin Craze, by Samuel Davenport after William Hogarth (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 13The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, by Leonardo da Vinci (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 14Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal panel, by Zach Weinersmith (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 15Beer Street at Beer Street and Gin Lane, by Samuel Davenport after William Hogarth (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 16Pepper No. 30, by Edward Weston (edited by Bammesk) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 17Battle of Aljubarrota, by Jorge Colaço (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 18Christ Pantocrator, by Godot13 (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 19Mizrah papercut, by Israel Dov Rosenbaum (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 20Taos Pueblo, by Ansel Adams (edited by Kaldari) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 21Computer generated still life, by Gilles Tran (re-rendered by Deadcode) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 22Birds' Head Haggadah, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 23Ardabil Carpet, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 24Crochet table-cloth, by Alvesgaspar/Júlia Figueiredo (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 25Cabiria poster, by N. Morgello (edited by Jujutacular) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 26The Pig Faced Lady of Manchester Square and the Spanish Mule of Madrid, at Pig-faced women, by George Cruikshank (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 27The Miraculous Sacrement at Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, by Alvesgaspar (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 28The battle of Mazandaran at Mazandaran province, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 29Robbins medallion of Apollo 11, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 30Robbins medallion of Apollo 15, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 31The Adoration of the Shepherds at History of Christianity in Ukraine, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 32"When We All Believe", at and by Rose O'Neill (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 33Rosette Bearing the Names and Titles of Shah Jahan, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 34Le Violon d'Ingres, by Man Ray (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 35Little Nemo comic strip, by Winsor McCay (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 36Magna Carta (An Embroidery), by Cornelia Parker (edited by Bammesk) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 37Pond in a Garden at Tomb of Nebamun, unknown author (edited by Yann) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 38Alchemist's Laboratory at Heinrich Khunrath, by Hans Vredeman de Vries (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 39Tribute in Light, by King of Hearts (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 40Celadon kettle, by the National Museum of Korea (edited by Crisco 1492) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 41Robbins medallion of Apollo 8, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 42Fliteline medallion of Gemini 10, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 43Gothic plate armour, by Anton Sorg (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 441910 cover of Life, by Coles Phillips (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 45Costume designed by David for legislators, at and by Jacques-Louis David and Vivant Denon (edited by Mvuijlst) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 46Tilework on the Dome of the Rock, by Godot13 (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 47Christmas angel at Gloria in excelsis Deo, by J. R. Clayton and The Brothers Dalziel (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 48Robbins medallion of Apollo 12, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 49Terragen scene at Scenery generator, by Fir0002 (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 50Flammarion engraving, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 51Love or Duty at Chromolithography, by Gabriele Castagnola (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 52Golden earrings from Gyeongju, by the National Museum of Korea (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 53The Lady with the Lamp at Florence Nightingale, by Henrietta Rae and Cassell & Co (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 54scene from the Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Elco. Corp. (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 55Fliteline medallion of Gemini 12, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 56The Thin Red Line at Remembrance poppy, by Harold H. Piffard (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 57Nude study at Figurative art, by Kenyon Cox (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 58Ijazah, by 'Ali Ra'if Efendi (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 59The Great Picture, by Douglas McCulloh (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 60Dali Atomicus at Salvador Dalí, by Philippe Halsman (edited by Trialsanderrors) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 61Crown of the Andes, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 62Armenian illuminated manuscript, by Toros Roslin (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 63Fliteline medallion of Gemini 6A, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 64The King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver at Gulliver's Travels, by James Gillray (restored by Crisco 1492) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 65Robbins medallion of Apollo–Soyuz, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 66Unfortunate events in the front seats of the ring of Madrid, and the death of the mayor of Torrejón, by Francisco Goya (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 67Fliteline medallion of Gemini 5, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 68Felbrigge Psalter, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 69Mirror writing, by Mahmoud Ibrahim (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 70Fliteline medallion of Gemini 3, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 71Weeki Wachee spring, Florida at Weeki Wachee Springs, by Toni Frissell (restored by Trialsanderrors) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 72Your Motherland Will Never Forget, at and by Joseph Simpson (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 73Study for Cardinal Niccolò Albergati, by Jan van Eyck (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 74A Brush for the Lead at Sleigh Ride, by Thomas Worth (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 75Idi Amin caricature, by Edmund S. Valtman (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 76Fliteline medallion of Gemini 11, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 77Robbins medallion of Apollo 7, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 78Zaandam at Etching revival, by James Abbott McNeill Whistler (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 79Vanity Fair cover art, by Ethel McClellan Plummer (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 80Gorgoneion, by Jastrow (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 81Coca-Cola advertising poster, unknown author (edited by Victorrocha) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 82Stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral, by PtrQs (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 83Sunrise, Inverness Copse, at and by Paul Nash (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 84The Pirate Publisher—An International Burlesque that has the Longest Run on Record at The Pirates of Penzance, by Joseph Keppler (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 85The Onion Field, at and by George Davison (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 86Ornamental latin alphabet at Initial, by F. Delamotte (restored and vectorized by JovanCormac) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 87Stained-glass example of chromostereopsis, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 88Segment of the Surrogate's Courthouse mosaic, by Rhododendrites (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 89Robbins medallion of Apollo 13, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 90Isaiah Scroll, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 91H.M.S. Pinafore poster, by Vic Arnold (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 92Ayyavazhi emblem at Ayya Vaikundar, by Vaikunda Raja (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 93Fliteline medallion of Gemini 7, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 94Robbins medallion of Apollo 16, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 95Fliteline medallion of Gemini 8, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 96Fliteline medallion of Gemini 4, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 97Fantascope at Phenakistiscope, by Thomas Mann Baynes (animated by Basile Morin) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 98Paper cutout featuring the Lord's Prayer, at and by Martha Ann Honeywell (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 99Isle of Graia Gulf of Akabah Arabia Petraea at Caravan (travellers), by David Roberts and Louis Haghe (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 100Alexander Mosaic detail, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 101Caucasus embroidery, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 102Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, by Rembrandt (edited by Crisco 1492) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 103Robbins medallion of Apollo 10, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 104Ambigram, by Basile Morin (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 105Sorrow, by Vincent van Gogh (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 106Glass molecular model at V-Ray, by Dllu (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 107Davy Jones's locker, by John Tenniel (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 108Robbins medallion of Apollo 9, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 109Colosseum, by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 110The Custer Fight at Lithography, by Charles Marion Russell (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 111Robbins medallion of Apollo 17, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
Image 112Robbins medallion of Apollo 14, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)

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Vital articles

Vital articles to understand The arts.

A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The English word to describe such a work derives from the Italian: novella for "new", "news", or "short story (of something new)", itself from the Latin: novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of novellus, diminutive of novus, meaning "new". According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, Medieval Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance novella. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, in the historical romances of Walter Scott and the Gothic novel.

Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, and John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance". M. H. Abrams and Walter Scott have argued that a novel is a fiction narrative that displays a realistic depiction of the state of a society, while the romance encompasses any fictitious narrative that emphasizes marvellous or uncommon incidents. Works of fiction that include marvellous or uncommon incidents are also novels, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Such "romances" should not be confused with the genre fiction romance novel, which focuses on romantic love. (Full article...)