 Welcome to my channel. In today's video I am going to talk about some very very important Victorian novels which you must read if you are preparing for UGC net English literature exam. The first important Victorian novelist is Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens has written so many novels. You must know that from all these novels there are three most important novels that you must study if you are preparing for UGC net English literature exam. The first important novel by Charles Dickens is Tale of Two Cities. As the title suggests Tale of Two Cities is based on the story of two cities London and Paris. The story is said during the French Revolution and it opens with the beautiful line it was the best of the times it was the worst of the times. This line has been asked several times in net exam so you must remember that this line is from the novel Tale of Two Cities. The second most important novel by Charles Dickens is Great Expectation. Great Expectation is a story about Pip and his love for the girl Estella. The novel is important because it has two ending. One ending was given by Charles Dickens and another ending was given by Charles Dickens on the request of his friend William Wilkie Collins who asked Charles Dickens to give another and a more pleasant ending to the novel Great Expectation. Another important characteristic of this novel is that Thomas Carly said that this novel is appropriately termed as Pip Nonsense. Okay so Thomas Carly had his views on this novel. Also this novel has a special character called Mrs. Havisham. Mrs. Havisham is an old lady who is dressed in a wedding gown and she is dressed in a wedding gown since the day of her marriage because she was ditched by her fiancé on the day of her marriage. The third important novel by Charles Dickens is Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist is also called as Parish Boys Progress. So you can see how Parish Boys Progress alludes to John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress. So there is a link in the two titles. Also you must remember that Oliver Twist is a novel which is based on the life of an orphan boy Oliver and this story revolves around the New Poor Law of 1834. This question was asked in UGC net exam several times so you must remember that Oliver Twist is a novel which revolves around the New Poor Law of 1834. The second most important Victorian novelist is William McPhee's Thackeray. William McPhee's Thackeray was born in Calcutta and he also worked in the East India Company. He has written several novels out of which Vanity Fair is very important. Vanity Fair is subtitled as a novel without a hero. It is about a Victorian heroine called Becky Sharp and the novel talks about her life during the Napoleonic wars. Also what is important about this novel is that the title has been taken from John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress. In John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress Christian the hero of Pilgrim Progress goes to Vanity Fair and this title Vanity Fair has been taken from the same Vanity Fair in which the Christian goes. Also at the same time you must remember that this novel Vanity Fair has a very very important closing line which says that which of us is happy in the world and this is how the novel ends. There are several other novels by William McPhee's Thackeray like Pendennis, History of Henry S. Morn. History of Henry S. Morn is important because it's a historic novel which is based on the life of a colonel who works in the courts of Queen Anne of England. There are other novels by William McPhee's Thackeray which are important and we cover all those novels as well as summaries and important points about those novels in my course which is available on my website www.arpithakarva.com. In the website you'll find a list of all the important writers that we cover in our UGC net English audio online course. You can subscribe to my course and prepare for UGC net in a revolutionary way. The third most important Victorian novelist is George Eliot. George Eliot's real name is Mary Annigan and she has written so many important novels out of which Middlemarch is very important. Middlemarch's subtitle is A Study of Provincial Life and this novel is very important because Virginia Woolf has commented that this is one of the few English novels written for grown-up people. The novel is set during the reformat of 1832. Also it has references from several places. In the prelude of this novel there is a reference to Saint Teresa and this was a question in January 2017's net exam. Also there is reference from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In Twelfth Night the clown says that by swaggering I could never thrive for the raineth reigneth every day and the same line has been quoted in this novel as well. Other than Middlemarch, George Eliot has written so many other novels out of which Mill on the Floss is important. Mill on the Floss is a story of a brother and a sister named Maggie Chulliver and Tom Chulliver and in the end we find that there is a very important line which says that in their death they too were united and this has also been asked in net exams several times so you must read the summary of Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss. Other than this George Eliot has also written a very important historic novel called Romola. The novel is based on this story of Italian renaissance but this novel was not at all popular during George Eliot's time and it was a complete failure so you must remember you must not read the summary of Romola but at least remember that it was an historic novel written by George Eliot and it was not at all popular during her times. The fourth important Victorian writer is Charlotte Bronte. Charlotte Bronte has written this beautiful work Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre's subtitelist and autobiography. This is a novel which is very important from feminist point of view because it has a heroine who asserts herself as a true feminist character. She says in one of the chapters of the novel that I am not an angel and I will not be one till I die. I will be myself. Also towards the end Jane herself addresses the reader saying that reader I married him. Okay so this is how the novel ends and the ending line reader I married him is very important from net point of view. Also you must remember that this novel is important due to several characters who are the part of this novel. One is Mr. Brocklehust. Mr. Brocklehust is a school instructor who uses religion as a medium to justify duality. There is another important character named Bertha Mason. Bertha Mason has inspired several other writers who have written so many other works on this character Bertha Mason. One writer is Jean Royce. She has written this beautiful work called by Segura C which is a prequel to Jane Eyre. Also there is another important writer Suzanne Gilbert who has written an essay Mad Woman in an Ethic which is based on the character of Bertha Mason. So these are the things which make this novel very important from net point of view. There are several other novels written by Charlotte Bronte namely Professor Willet Shinde. They are not so important but you should remember the title and certain important characteristics of those novels as they have been asked in net exam several times. So this is all about Charlotte Bronte. Now let's move to another important Victorian writer. The next important Victorian writer is Emily Bronte. Emily Bronte has written this beautiful work Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights is a story of Catherine and Heathcliff and it is a story which is driven by passion and revenge. Matthew Arnold has praised this work saying that it beautifully portrays grief, passion and vehemence. Also at the same time we must remember that the story employs frame narrative. The story opens with a man named Lockwood and the opening scene is very important because the man is sleeping and in the dream he dreams about Catherine who is pushing the windowpane and she is trying to get into the room saying that let me in, let me in. So the opening scene is important. The characters are not so important from net point of view because they have not been asked in net exams till now. There are so many characters in this novel but you should at least remember the basic plot line in order to attempt the questions wisely. Next important Victorian writer is Elizabeth Gaskell. Elizabeth Gaskell has written a work North and South. This work is very important because it talks about the demerit and harsh effect of industrialization. The work was inspired by the writings of Thomas Carly. Thomas Carly is another Victorian essayist who is writing in the same period and has inspired Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell. This was asked in UGC net exam. Also you must remember that the basic plot of North and South is that it is the story of a girl Margaret who supports the labour class and the mill workers and clashes and stands against the mill owners. Elizabeth Gaskell has written another important work called Life of Charlotte Bronte. It is a prose work written by Elizabeth Gaskell on the request of Charlotte Bronte's father. Now let's look at one of the major figure of Victorian society who is Thomas Hardy. Thomas Hardy has written so many important novels. His novel under the Greenwood tree is important because the title has been taken from William Shakespeare's As You Like It. Other than that there are several other novels which must be read in detail if you are preparing for UGC net. Namely we have Mayor of the Caster Bridge. The subtitle of Mayor of the Caster Bridge is life and death of man of a character and there's a very very important line in this novel which says that happiness is but an occasional episode in the general drama of pain and this was asked in UGC net exam that this line is taken from which novel. Also you must remember that this novel is important because in this novel the central character sells his own wife. The protagonist sells his own wife unknowingly. So basically the novel deals with how a man's choice affects his life. The second important novel which must be read is Test of the Durbalist. Test of the Durbalist talks about the moral sexual morals during the Victorian period. Also there are certain scenes which are very important. The scene when Tess writes a letter and slides Angel is not able to read the letter because the letter gets in gets under the carpet. That scene is very important. Also it is important to know that Tess is a novel which not only talks about the Victorian society but also talks about the condition of female and how females were treated during Victorian society. The third important novel is Jude the Obscure. Jude the Obscure is important novel because hair Jude the central character is compared to a character from Bible. The character from Bible's name is Joe and Joe is compared to Jude. So this comparison is important other than that he has written several other novels like Far From the Maggling Crown. He has written poetry also Darkling Thrush which is important. We talk about all the major novels summary important characteristics in my online course. So if you wish to study all the important novels in detail then you can join my online course. The details are available on the website. You can also go and like my Facebook page because we are running a Go Net quiz every day. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel because every Saturday and Sunday I post new videos for UGC Net aspirants. At the same time if you want to know more about me my educational background my Net certificate the links are given in the description box below. You can go and check for a list of writers which are important from Net Point of View. You can get the list on my website www.arpathakarva.com. So till the time we meet next bye-bye see you and keep loving the treasure.