Major Periods of Literary Fiction
Here is a mini list of the different periods authors are divided into according to the period within which their work was produced. It serves no other purpose than curiosity. As you can see there is some overlapping of time and some authors venture into more than one period because of lengthy careers.
Romanticism
The romantic period cover works created from 1800 to 1865. Popular writers from this period include:
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Lord Byron
- Mary Shelley
- John Keats
- James Cooper
- Herman Melville
- Jane Austen
- Bronte Sisters
Realism
The realistic period runs from 1855 to 1900. Popular writers from this period include:
- Gustave Flaubert
- Leo Tolstoy
- Mark Twain
- Henry James
- Kate Chopin
Naturalism
The naturalistic was a rather short period only running from 1890 to 1910. Popular writers from this period include:
- John Steinbeck
- Edith Wharton
- Ellen Glasgow
- O Henry
Modernism
The modern period ran from 1900 to 1950. Popular writers from this period include:
- T. S. Eliot
- William Faulkner
- D. H. Lawrence
- James Joyce
- Virginia Woolf
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- John Steinbeck
Post War
The post war period ran from 1946 to 1963. Popular writers from this period include:
- Flannery O’Connor
- J. D. Salinger
- William Faulkner
Confessions
The confessional period rand from 1964 to 1980. Popular writers from this period include:
- Sylvia Plath
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Alice Walker
- John Updike
Post Modern
The postmodernism period began in 1950 and continues today. Popular writers from this period include:
- William S. Burroughs
- Norman Mailer
- Ernest Hemingway
- Tobias Wolff
- Ha Jin
- Margaret Atwood
Contemporary
The contemporary period began in 1970 and continues today. It is a continuation of postmodernism. Popular writers from this period include:
- Alice Walker
- Judith Guest
- Charles Frazier
- Doris Lessing
