Psychological novel

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A psychological novel, also called psychological realism, is a work of prose fiction which places more than the usual amount of emphasis on interior characterization, and on the motives, circumstances, an internal action which springs from, and develops, external action. The psychological novel is not content to state what happens but goes on to explain the why and the wherefore of this action. In this type of writing character and characterization are more than usually important.

The origins of the psychological novel can be traced as far back as Giovanni Boccaccio's 1344 La Fiammetta; that is before the term psychology was coined.

Another avant la lettre example is Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel Cervantes.

The first rise of the psychological novel as a genre is said to have started with the sentimental novel of which Samuel Richardson's Pamela is a prime example.

In French literature, Stendhal's The Red and the Black is often called an early psychological novel. Madame de La Fayette's "The Princess of Cleves," dating back to the 17th century, is also considered an early precursor of the psychological novel.