A Brief Guide to the Novel guides developmental reading students step-by-step through mastering a novel or nonfiction narrative. A Brief Guide to the Novel is the first text available in the new Longman Literature for College Readers Series.

The guide introduces key terms such as character, plot, setting, and cultural contexts. Part 1 includes 8 brief chapters introducing key concepts in reading novels and non-fiction narratives. Part 2 includes 10 discussion guides for novels and nonfiction narratives commonly taught in developmental reading and writing courses such Steinbeck's The Pearl and McBride's The Color of Water. (Most of these novels are available through the Penguin Program.)