Defoe, Richardson, Fielding and the English NovelThe roots of the novel date back to the beginning of communication and language because the novel is a collection of various elements that have evolved over the of the centuries. The birth of the English novel, however, can be centered on the work of three 18th-century writers: Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), Samuel Richardson (1689-1761), and Henry Fielding (1707-1754). Various critics have considered both Defoe and Richardson to be the father of the English novel, and Fielding is never discussed without comparing him to Richardson. The choice of these three authors is not arbitrary; it is based on the central elements of the novel provided by these authors who implemented the novel itself. Of course, Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding added styles from the past and writing styles of the period, including moralistic instructions and picaresque stories. Using the writing of the time and the literary tradition of the past, Defoe first created the English novel while Richardson and Fielding completed the beginning. Critics disagree on a strict definition of the novel; D.H. Lawrence observed, "You can put what you want into a novel" (Stevenson 2), and Wagenknecht in his Cavalcade of the English Novel stated that "...'novel' has never been satisfactorily defined" (xvii ). Henry James had a unique perception of the novel: "A novel is a living thing, all one and continuous, like any other organism, and in so far as it lives it will be found, I think, that in each of the parts there is something of the other parts ." (Kettle 12)"Novel" comes from the Italian "novelle," used for sensational news. A collection, Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, was popularized in the 14th century (Phelps 11). The term was brought back into English to form the basis of English novels. There are certain components that a novel should contain. George Phelps developed a six-part basis for identifying novels: the writing must be fictitious, or in other words "not pretend to tell the truth", have a certain length, achieve a unity of "plot, theme, tone, atmosphere, or vision,” create an illusion of reality, be interested in character, and be prosaic (Phelps 7-8). Kettle, in his An Introduction to the English Novel, argues that a novel must have two elements: a quality of life and a meaningful pattern. (13).