Tieu thuyet (chu Han: 小說) la mot the loai van xuoi co hu cau, thong qua nhan vat, hoan canh, su viec đe phan anh buc tranh xa hoi rong lon va nhung van đe cua cuoc song con nguoi, bieu hien tinh chat tuong thuat, tinh chat ke chuyen bang ngon ngu van xuoi theo nhung chu đe xac đinh.
Trong mot cach hieu khac, nhan đinh cua Belinski: "tieu thuyet la su thi cua đoi tu" chi ra khai quat nhat ve mot dang thuc tu su, trong đo su tran thuat tap trung vao so phan cua mot ca nhan trong qua trinh hinh thanh va phat trien cua no. Su tran thuat o đay đuoc khai trien trong khong gian va thoi gian nghe thuat đen muc đu đe truyen đat co cau cua nhan cach.


Ten goi the loai Trong van hoc phuong Đong, danh tu tieu thuyet xuat hien kha som nham phan biet voi hai the loai co ban khac la đai thuyet va trung thuyet. Đai thuyet la kinh sach cua cac thanh nhan viet nhu Kinh Thu, Kinh Thi cua Khong Tu, đo la loai sach mang nang tinh triet hoc, gan nhu chan ly, kieu khuon vang thuoc ngoc va rat kho đoc. Trung thuyet do cac hien su, su gia thuc hien nhu Su ky cua Tu Ma Thien. Con tieu thuyet, von chi nhung chuyen vun vat, đoi thuong. Nhung chuyen ay cung voi co tich, ngu ngon la nhung mam mong cua tieu thuyet phuong Đong. Thuy Hu va Hong Lau Mong la mot trong nhung so đo.
Theo quan niem truoc đay, đac biet la quan niem cua Trung Quoc va Nhat Ban, tieu thuyet bao gom co hai loai chinh la tieu thuyet đoan thien hay truyen ngan, tham chi la "vi hinh tieu thuyet" (truyen cuc ngan, truyen sieu ngan) hay "truyen trong long ban tay") va tieu thuyet truong thien (truyen dai). Tuy nhien hien nay, o Viet Nam, khi noi đen tieu thuyet, đoc gia thuong hieu đo la tac pham truyen dai.
O mot so ngon ngu phuong Tay, tu tieu thuyet co nguon goc tu tieng Latinh, mang nghia chuyen moi (novel).
Song song voi tien trinh nay, van hoc hien đai the gioi cung cho thay nhung nguyen ly cua tieu thuyet chi phoi hau het cac tac pham tu su khac nen su phan biet ban chat the loai o cac truyen cu the tro nen ngay cang kho khan.


Lich su Lich su phat trien tieu thuyet đa đe lai cho nen van hoc the gioi nhung thanh tuu ruc ro: tu nhung kiet tac tieu thuyet chuong hoi Trung Hoa đen nhung tac pham đo so cua tieu thuyet hien thuc phe phan phuong Tay, tu dong chay cua tieu thuyet su thi hoanh trang trong van hoc Nga the ky bac đen nhung nguon mach van chuong hien thuc huyen ao My-Latinh, su troi day va vuot thoat truyen thong cua nhung nen van hoc chau A v.v. Nhung mo hinh ay đa tao dung nen dien mao đac biet phong phu cua tieu thuyet trong suot thoi ky đa qua tinh tu khi hinh thanh the loai.


= Chau A =

O Trung Quoc tieu thuyet xuat hien rat som, vao thoi ky Nguy - Tan (the ky III-IV) tieu thuyet đa manh nha duoi dang nhung tac pham chi quai, chi nhan. Sang đoi nha Đuong xuat hien the loai truyen ky, đoi Tong lai co them dang thoai ban, tat ca đeu co the coi la tien than cua tieu thuyet theo nghia hien đai. Tu đoi Minh van hoc Trung Quoc noi chung va van xuoi Trung Quoc noi rieng phat trien ruc ro voi nhung pho tieu thuyet chuong hoi noi tieng nhu Tam quoc dien nghia cua La Quan Trung, Thuy hu cua Thi Nai Am, Tay du ky cua Ngo Thua An, Kim Binh Mai cua Lan Lang Tieu Tieu Sinh v.v. Đoi Thanh buoc phat trien cua tieu thuyet chuong hoi đa toi thoi điem hoang kim qua hang loat danh tac nhu Chuyen lang Nho (Nho lam ngoai su) cua Ngo Kinh Tu, Hong Lau Mong cua Tao Tuyet Can. Thoi hien đai tieu thuyet Trung Quoc vuot thoat nhung the loai truyen thong, anh huong lon tu cac trao luu van hoc phuong Tay đuong thoi voi sang tac cua cac tac gia nhu Lo Tan, Gia Binh Ao, Mac Ngon, v.v...
Tai Nhat Ban, vuot qua su ky, tuy but va nhat ky, hinh thuc so khai cua tieu thuyet đa xuat hien tu nhung the ky thu VI-VIII, ban đau la su tap hop thanh chuong nhung bai ca ballad, truyen ke do cac phap su mu gay đan biwa luu truyen khap đao quoc. Cung voi nhung sang tao khoi đau la Taketori Monogatari, tieu thuyet Nhat Ban, ma hinh thuc cua the loai đuoc goi bang ten monogatari, đi đuoc mot nua chang đuong đen Ise monogatari va đat đinh cao voi Truyen ke Genji. Truyen ke Genji tro thanh ngoi sao bang choi sang cua van chuong co đien Nhat Ban, đuoc đanh gia la tieu thuyet theo nghia hien đai đau tien cua nhan loai, ma rat nhieu the ky ve sau voi Sagoromo monogatari, Yowa no nezame, Hamamatsu Chunagon monogatari, Torikaebaya monogatari, van hoc Nhat Ban van khong the san sinh đuoc mot tac pham tu su nao co đuoc vi tri va gia tri cua no. Tu the ky XIX khi xa hoi Nhat Ban khong ngung huong theo mo hinh phuong Tay, nhung tac pham noi tieng cua the loai tieu thuyet phuong Tay đuong thoi đuoc dich thuat hoac phong tac tran lan trong thoi Minh Tri đa phat trien tieu thuyet Nhat Ban theo nhung khuynh huong sang tac hien đai, va nhung tieu thuyet tien-hien đai đau tien co dang thuc tu thuat, con goi la "tam canh tieu thuyet", vao cuoi thoi Minh Tri.


= Phuong Tay =

O phuong Tay, Tieu thuyet co mam mong ban đau tu cac tac pham tu su viet bang tieng Roman, thuong la the loai anh hung, đo la nhung tieu thuyet ki si voi nhung bien co va tinh huong phi thuong. Tuy nhien, nhin nguon goc cua the loai, cac nha nghien cuu co the truy nguyen ve tan thoi Hi Lap, khi ben canh nhung tac pham truong ca co đai voi cam hung ve cai chung va cai anh hung la chu đao, van co nhung tac pham lay cam hung tu con nguoi rieng le, va Bielinski đa rat co ly khi cho rang "tieu thuyet hinh thanh khi van menh con nguoi, moi moi lien he cua no voi đoi song nhan dan đuoc y thuc" va "đoi song ca nhan bat luan the nao cung khong the la noi dung cua anh hung ca Hy Lap, nhung lai co the la noi dung cua tieu thuyet". Tren nen mong cua hinh thai tu duy kham pha nhung van đe ban chat cua hien thuc thong qua su tai hien so phan ca nhan đa co tu thoi Hy Lap, đa xuat hien nhung the loai van chuong thoi trung đai chau Au theo theo the tai hiep si, nhu Tristan va Iseut.
Thoi ky Phuc Hung đa tao co so thuan tien nhat cho su phat trien tieu thuyet: chat tieu thuyet boc lo trong cac tac pham the truyen nhu cua Giovanni Boccaccio, the truong ca cua Matteo Maria Boiardo, Ludovico Ariosto, Torquato Tasso va the kich voi William Shakespeare. Nhung tieu thuyet đich thuc gan voi nhung tim toi tu tuong triet ly, chi xuat hien vao cuoi thoi đai Phuc Hung voi Don Quixote. Sau thoi Phuc Hung, khi van hoc tao nha la chu đao, thi xu huong phat trien tieu thuyet chi boc lo ro trong cac sang tac thuoc loai tieu thuyet du đang khai thac cac đac điem trao phung, su hu cau tu do, vai tro cua kinh nghiem ca nhan tac gia trong sang tao nghe thuat (cac tac pham cua Francois Rabelais, Desiderius Erasmus, Michel de Montaigne  Jean Henri Merle D'Aubigne    v.v.), va tieu thuyet tam ly đau tien voi sang tac cua Madame de La Fayette.
Sang thoi đai Khai sang va thoi can đai, tu the ky XVIII, tieu thuyet đa đi mot chang đuong dai voi su hinh thanh cac ket cau chinh. Truyen hiep si Des Grieux va nang Mannon Lescault (1731) cua Abbe Prevost ket hop huu co đuoc hai the tai tam ly va du đang. Samuel Richardson voi Clarisse Harlow (1747), Jean Jacques Rousseau voi Julie hay nang Heloise moi (1761) đua ra nhung mau muc cua tieu thuyet lang man đong thoi cung co vai tro chu đao cua tieu thuyet luan đe. Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett đa đong gop cho su hinh thanh nguyen tac đien hinh hoa cua tieu thuyet hien thuc, lam tien đe cho su no ro tieu thuyet cua chu nghia hien thuc phat trien manh giai đoan sau đo voi Honore de Balzac, Emile Zola, Stendhal, Gustave Flaubert, Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray (tieu thuyet toan canh, tieu thuyet huong tam). Tieu thuyet su thi cua Lev Tolstoy voi su tran thuat đat đuoc chieu rong va tinh bao quat, su mo ta đoi song noi tam nhan vat nhu mot qua trinh tam ly noi tai lan đau tien cho phep tieu thuyet tai hien đuoc "bien chung cua tam hon". Tieu thuyet đoi thoai cua Fyodor Dostoevsky voi con nguoi đoi tu đuoc đat trong tuong quan voi ca the gioi.
The ky XX tieu thuyet phuong Tay phat trien trong su đa dang đoi nghich nhau ve nhieu mat, ben canh nhung thanh tuu cua tieu thuyet hien thuc voi khuynh huong hien thuc phe phan hoac khuynh huong hien thuc xa hoi chu nghia, huong sang tac moi cua Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Franz Kafka lai cho thay mot loat cac nguyen tac tieu thuyet von đa thanh truyen thong truoc kia bi bien đoi: đoc thoai noi tam bao trum tac pham nhu mot thu phap cua tieu thuyet dong y thuc; su xao tron lien tuc cac binh dien thoi gian va khong gian, cac mang đoi song hien thuc hoa quyen cung huyen thoai, xuat hien nguoi ke chuyen khong toan nang khi trong loi ke co ca cai biet va cai khong biet, cai khach quan lan chu quan. Cac van đe ve "ngoi" va "thoi" cua loi tran thuat va cac "điem nhin" tran thuat tro thanh chia khoa cho viec đoc tieu thuyet theo khuynh huong phuc đieu, đa thanh. Ben canh đo, cac trao luu tu tuong đuong thoi nhu hien tuong hoc, thuyet phi ly, chu nghia hien sinh, phan tam hoc, hau hien đai, phe binh nu quyen, hau thuc dan cung gop phan tao ra nhung dang thuc nhu phan tieu thuyet, tieu thuyet moi, hoac lam nay sinh tu tuong ve nhan vat bien mat, hoac tieu thuyet cao chung v.v.


= Viet Nam =
O Viet Nam tieu thuyet xuat hien kha muon, tuy nhung sang tac van xuoi co nhu Viet đien u linh, Linh Nam chich quai, Thanh Tong di thao, Truyen ky man luc, Truyen ky tan pha the ky XIV-XVI đa đat nhung nen mong so khai cho tu duy the loai, thong qua tien trinh tu su ghi chep cac yeu to truyen thuyet, than thoai, co tich đen giai đoan phan anh nhung chuyen đoi thuong. The ky XVIII cho thay su no ro the loai tu su voi cac tac pham nhu Thuong kinh ky su (ky) cua Le Huu Trac, Vu trung tuy but (tuy but) cua Pham Đinh Ho va đac biet la Hoang Le nhat thong chi, tac pham xuat hien voi tam voc tieu thuyet, la pho tieu thuyet lich su đau tien cua Viet Nam co gia tri van hoc đac sac. Hoang Le nhat thong chi tai hien mot cach song đong buc tranh xa hoi rong lon thoi vua Le, chua Trinh thong qua ket cau chuong hoi tuong tu tieu thuyet thoi Minh-Thanh tai Trung Hoa. Yeu to đoi tu va mach tu su trong cac truyen Nom khuyet danh va huu danh đuong thoi nhu Hoa tien, Nhi đo mai, Pham Cong Cuc Hoa, Pham Tai Ngoc Hoa va Truyen Kieu cung it nhieu gop phan thuc đay su phat trien cua the loai.
Tuy nhien, phai đen nhung nam 30 cua the ky XX van hoc Viet Nam moi xuat hien tieu thuyet voi đay đu tinh chat cua the loai hien đai. Cung phong trao Tho Moi, tieu thuyet hien đai Viet Nam 1930-1945 co nhung buoc tien vuot bac va thanh tuu lon voi hai khuynh huong sang tac: nhung cay but noi tieng cua Tu Luc van đoan, nhung nguoi đa thuc đay su hinh thanh the loai nhu Nhat Linh, Khai Hung, Thach Lam; va nhung nha van hien thuc phe phan nhu Ngo Tat To, Nam Cao, Vu Trong Phung, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Nguyen Hong.
Trong 2 cuoc chien tranh ve quoc (chong Phap va chong My), đoi ngu cac nha tieu thuyet Viet Nam đa ngay cang đong đao (Nguyen Huy Tuong, To Hoai, Nguyen Đinh Thi, Nguyen Khai, Nguyen Minh Chau, Nguyen Ngoc). It nhieu tieu thuyet Viet Nam co thanh tuu tiem can voi the loai tieu thuyet-su thi von mang đe tai hoanh trang va dung luong đo so, ma mot trong so đo la Vo bo cua Nguyen Đinh Thi. Sau 1986, lich su tieu thuyet Viet Nam sang trang moi voi nhung sang tac cua Ma Van Khang, Le Luu, Bao Ninh, Nguyen Huy Thiep, co noi dung sau sac hon ve than phan con nguoi va hinh thuc co dau hieu manh nha he hinh van chuong hau hien đai.


Ket cau Tieu thuyet co nhieu dang thuc ket cau tuy theo yeu cau cua đe tai, chu đe hoac theo so truong cua nguoi viet. Tham chi nguoi ta con cho rang, ve nguyen tac, tieu thuyet khong co mot hinh thuc the loai hoan ket, boi vi no la "su thi cua thoi đai chung ta", tuc la su thi cua cai hien tai, cai đang hang ngay hang gio đoi thay, boi vi đieu quan trong đoi voi no la su tiep xuc toi đa voi cai thuc tai dang do "chua xong xuoi", cai thuc tai đang thanh hinh, cai thuc tai luon bi đanh gia lai, tu duy lai. Tuy thuong gap nhung ket cau chuong hoi, ket cau tam ly, ket cau luan đe, ket cau đon tuyen, ket cau đa tuyen v.v. tieu thuyet van khong chiu đuoc nhung che đinh chat che, no khong co quy pham co đinh va nguoi viet tham chi co the pha vo nhung khuon mau san co đe van dung mot cach linh hoat va sang tao cac hinh thuc ket cau khac nhau. Ket cau cho phep tao nen mot dien mao chung nhat ve tieu loai: tieu thuyet chuong hoi, tieu thuyet tam ly, tieu thuyet luan đe, tieu thuyet đa thanh v.v.


Phong cach Voi nhung khac biet cua tieu thuyet ve đe tai (tinh yeu, xa hoi, chinh tri, lich su, triet ly, gia tuong v.v.), dung luong, muc đo kich tinh, cac nguyen tac ket cau-cot truyen, phuong thuc tran thuat, co the thay mot so điem nhan ve phong cach, de thay nhat la đem tinh noi dung truc tiep cua tieu thuyet om trum toan bo moi thanh to cot truyen, khi đo tinh tiet rac roi se tro thanh phuong tien phan anh xung đot giua ca nhan va xa hoi, tro thanh đong luc thuc đay hanh đong cua nhan vat, giup tang cuong vai tro cau tao cua cot truyen cho tac pham. Tao đuoc kich tinh cho tran thuat, su rac roi se chi phoi ca su phat trien cua mau thuan nao đo xuat phat điem đen phuong thuc giai quyet, ca tien trinh lan cac thanh phan cua nhung bien co cot truyen va tham chi ca ban than cac "chia khoa" ket cau tac pham.


Xu huong cau truc Qua trinh phat trien the loai tieu thuyet hien đai o cac nen van hoc chau Au cho thay hai huong cau truc tieu bieu:


= Tieu thuyet mo =
Tieu thuyet mo co ngon nguon tu Don Quixote (1605, 1615), mieu ta xa hoi mot cach đa dien, tao cac ly do that chi tiet cho su tien trien cua nhan vat chinh, cho nhan vat nay can du vao nhieu bien co va nhung bien co ay lai la noi cu ngu cho vo so nhan vat phu. Kieu tieu thuyet nay cung đac trung o su mieu ta rong rai hoan canh ngoai gioi khach quan ma truoc nhat la hoan canh xa hoi.


= Tieu thuyet đong =
Tieu thuyet theo xu huong cau truc "đong" co the tinh ngon nguon tu tac pham Quan chua Cleves (La princesse de Cleves) (1678) cua nu si Madame de La Fayette, the hien su tap trung vao cuoc đoi cua mot con nguoi, đoi khi vao chi mot xung đot, mot tinh huong, do đo mang tinh huong tam, đong tam, xet ve ket cau. Xu huong cau truc tieu thuyet nay đa rat som tro thanh ngon nguon cua nhung sang tac tieu thuyet tam ly giai đoan sau.


Đac trung = Tinh chat van xuoi =
La mot the loai cao cap nhat thuoc phuong thuc tu su, tinh chat van xuoi, vi vay, tro thanh đac trung tieu bieu cho noi dung cua the loai. Tinh chat đo đa tao nen truong luc manh me đe the loai dung chua toan ven hien thuc, đong hoa va tai hien chung trong mot the thong nhat voi nhung sac mau tham my moi vuot len tren hien thuc, cho phep tac pham phoi bay đen tan cung su phuc tap muon mau cua hien thuc đoi song.


= Nghe thuat ke chuyen =
Giong nhu cac hinh thai tu su khac nhu truyen ngan, truyen vua, tieu thuyet lay nghe thuat ke chuyen lam giong đieu chinh cua tac pham. Thong thuong o tac pham xuat hien nguoi ke chuyen nhu mot nhan vat trung gian co nhiem vu mieu ta va ke lai đau đuoi dien bien cua chuyen. Tuy su ton tai cua yeu to nay la uoc le nghe thuat cua nhieu the loai thuoc tu su, nghe thuat ke chuyen cua tieu thuyet van cho thay su đa dang đac biet ve phong cach: co the thong qua nhan vat trung gian, co the la nhan vat xung "toi", cung co the la mot nhan vat khac trong tac pham, tao nen cac tac pham co mot điem nhin tran thuat. Hien nay, mot trong nhung xu huong tim toi đoi moi tieu thuyet la viec tang them cac điem nhin o tac pham, khi vai tro cua nhan vat trung gian hoac nhan vat xung "toi" đuoc "san se" cho nhieu nhan vat trong cung mot tac pham.


= Kha nang phan anh toan ven hien thuc =
Đac trung lon nhat cua tieu thuyet chinh la kha nang phan anh toan ven va sinh đong đoi song theo huong tiep xuc gan gui nhat voi hien thuc. La mot the loai lon tieu bieu cho phuong thuc tu su, tieu thuyet co kha nang bao quat lon ve chieu rong cua khong gian cung nhu chieu dai cua thoi gian, cho phep nha van mo rong toi đa tam voc cua hien thuc trong tac pham cua minh.
O phuong dien khac, tieu thuyet la the loai co cau truc linh hoat, khong chi cho phep mo rong ve thoi gian, khong gian, nhan vat, su kien ma con o kha nang don nhan vat va su kien vao mot khoang khong gian va thoi gian hep, đi sau khai thac canh ngo rieng va kham pha chieu sau so phan ca nhan nhan vat.


= Hu cau nghe thuat =
Hu cau nghe thuat cung đuoc coi la mot đac trung cua the loai, la mot thao tac nghe thuat khong the thieu trong tu duy sang tao cua tieu thuyet. Hu cau cho phep tac pham tai hien nhung thoi đai lich su phat trien trong cau chuyen hu cau, khong hien thuc nhu su hoc, va nhung nhan vat hoan toan khong bi le thuoc boi nguyen mau ngoai đoi nhu nhung tac pham thuoc the ky. Trong vo van nhung guong mat đoi thuong va giua muon ngan bien co cua lich su, nha van khi truoc tac mot tac pham tieu thuyet đa thuc hien nhung bien phap nghe thuat đong hoa va tai hien buc tranh đoi song bang phuong thuc chon loc, tong hop va sang tao. Khi đo, hu cau nghe thuat, đoi voi tieu thuyet đa tro thanh yeu to boc lo ro ret pham chat sang tao doi dao cua nha van.


= Tinh đa dang ve sac đo tham my =
Tinh đa dang ve mau sac tham my cung la mot đac trung tieu bieu cua the loai. Cac the loai van hoc khac thuong chi tiep nhan mot sac thai tham my nao đo đe tao nen am huong cua toan bo tac pham, nhu bi kich la cai cao ca, hai kich la cai thap hen, tho la cai đep va cai ly tuong. O tieu thuyet khong dien ra qua trinh chon lua mau sac tham my khi tiep nhan hien thuc ma noi dung cua no the hien su pha tron, chuyen hoa lan nhau cua cac sac đo tham my khac nhau: cai cao ca ben cai thap hen, cai đep ben cai xau, cai thien lan cai ac, cai bi ben canh cai hai v.v.


= Ban chat tong hop =
O phuong dien cuoi cung, tieu thuyet la mot the loai mang ban chat tong hop. No co the dung nap thong qua ngon tu nghe thuat nhung phong cach nghe thuat cua cac the loai van hoc khac nhu tho (nhung rung đong tinh te), kich (xung đot xa hoi), ky (hien thuc đoi song); cac thu phap nghe thuat cua nhung loai hinh ngoai bien nhu hoi hoa (mau sac), am nhac (thanh am), đieu khac (su can xung, chi tiet), đien anh (kha nang lien ket cac buc man hien thuc); va tham chi ca cac bo mon khoa hoc khac nhu tam ly hoc, phan tam hoc, đao đuc hoc va cac bo mon khoa hoc tu nhien, khoa hoc vien tuong khac. v.v. Nhieu thien tai nghe thuat đa đinh hinh phong cach tu kha nang tong hop nay cua the loai, nhu Lev Tolstoy voi tieu thuyet-su thi, Fyodor Dostoevsky voi the loai tieu thuyet-kich, Mikhail Sholokhov voi tieu thuyet anh hung ca-tru tinh, Romain Rolland voi tieu thuyet-giao huong v.v.


Loai va the Phan chia loai the tieu thuyet theo noi dung, đe tai đa co tu xa xua trong lich su van hoc cac nuoc phuong Tay cung nhu phuong Đong.


= Trung Quoc =
Cac tai lieu ve lich su tieu thuyet o Trung Quoc noi đen cac loai tieu thuyet sau:

Tieu thuyet chi quai: nhung tac pham ke nhung chuyen quai di. Co the ke đen Suu Than Ky, Liet di truyen đoi Luc Trieu.
Tieu thuyet chi nhan: ghi ve loi noi, viec lam cua nguoi thuong co y nghia tieu bieu, nhu The thuyet tan ngu.
Tieu thuyet truyen ky thinh hanh thoi Đuong, Tong, Nguyen, Minh, nhu Co kinh ky, Bach Vien truyen, Tien đang tan thoai, Ngu so tan chi.
Tieu thuyet thoai ban đoi Tong, Nguyen, Minh, tieu bieu la cac tac pham cua Phung Mong Long, Lang Mong So.
Tieu thuyet chuong hoi: nhung tieu thuyet truong thien bao gom nhieu hoi, đau moi hoi co "hoi muc", la mot hoac hai cau that ngon du bao tinh tiet chinh cua hoi, moi hoi viet ve mot su kien chu yeu va ket thuc hoi co loi dan dat đen hoi tiep. Can cu theo dung luong co the chia tieu thuyet chuong hoi thanh loai lon (100 hoi tro len) va loai nho (khoang 2-3 chuc chuong hoi tro lai). Loai lon thuong bao gom tieu thuyet dien nghia lich su nhu Tam quoc dien nghia, Đong Chu liet quoc, Tay Han dien nghia; tieu thuyet truyen ky anh hung nhu Thuy hu; tieu thuyet than ma nhu Tay du ky; tieu thuyet tinh đoi nhu Kim Binh Mai, Hong Lau Mong; tieu thuyet cham biem nhu Chuyen lang Nho; tieu thuyet cong an nhu Long đo cong an; tieu thuyet vo hiep nhu truyen kiem hiep, tien than cua nhung tac pham tieu thuyet Kim Dung sau nay. Tieu thuyet chuong hoi loai nho co the bao gom tieu thuyet tai tu giai nhan ke nhung moi tinh cua trai gai, the hien uoc mo hanh phuc lua đoi; tieu thuyet khien trach vach tran nhung ung nhot xa hoi nhu tac pham Quan truong hien hinh ky.


= Phuong Tay =
Tieu thuyet o phuong Tay xuat hien đa dang tuy theo đac điem van hoc dan toc. Tuy nhien, thuong thay cac the sau:

Tieu thuyet hiep si (chevalric romance): la the loai van hoc tao nha thoi trung đai xuat hien o Trung va Nam Au, nhan vat chinh la hiep si đi lap cong vi vinh quang va vi nguoi tinh. Tieu bieu la cac tieu thuyet ve vua Arthur, cau chuyen Tristan va Iseut v.v..
Tieu thuyet du đang (picaresque novel): nhan vat trung tam la nhung ke bom nghich xuat than tu duoi đay xa hoi, thuong co oc thong minh, hai huoc, hay choi kham ong chu ba chu. Co the ke đen tac pham Gil Blas o Santillanne cua Alain-Rene Lesage.
Tieu thuyet đen (roman noir), con goi la tieu thuyet kinh di (gothic novel): xuat hien o Anh vao cuoi the ky XVIII, voi cot truyen ket hop cac motif kinh di, cam bay, hon ma, suc manh sieu nhien voi niem hoai niem qua vang. Nha van My Edgar Allan Poe sau nay đa tiep tuc voi loai the tieu thuyet nay trong nhieu tac pham cua minh.
Tieu thuyet trinh tham (roman detective): nhan vat chinh la tham tu, cot truyen la đieu tra vu an, tinh tiet đuoc giu bi mat cho đen ket thuc tac pham. Tieu bieu la tac pham cua Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Tieu thuyet lich su (historical novel): lay nhan vat, su kien lich su la đe tai, tuy co hu cau mot so nhan vat hay tinh tiet phu nhung ve co ban la ton trong su that lich su. Chien tranh va hoa binh cua Lev Tolstoy thuoc dang nay.
Tieu thuyet giao duc: hoc hoi, ke ve qua trinh truong thanh cua mot con nguoi nhu David Copperfield cua Charles Dickens.
Tieu thuyet luan đe (problem novel): thong qua nhan vat va su kien trinh bay mot van đe chu yeu.
Tieu thuyet tam ly (psychological fiction): đat trong tam o mieu ta dien bien tam ly, đong co, canh ngo cua nhan vat. Cac tieu thuyet cua Henry James thuoc dang nay.
Tieu thuyet tu truyen (autobiographical novel): nha van tu ke lai đoi minh mot cach khach quan, trung thuc, thinh hanh o the ky XIX nhu bo ba tac pham Thoi tho au, Kiem song, Nhung truong đai hoc cua toi cua Maksim Gorky.


= Nhung quan niem khac =
Theo M.M. Bakhtin, the loai tieu thuyet trai qua cac hinh thuc nhu tieu thuyet phieu luu, tieu thuyet khao nghiem, tieu thuyet truyen ky va tiep đen la tieu thuyet giao duc.
Cac nha nghien cuu hien nay con chia tieu thuyet thanh cac dang tieu thuyet gia đinh, tieu thuyet nong dan, tieu thuyet lich su, tieu thuyet quan sat the gioi, tieu thuyet khoa hoc vien tuong, tieu thuyet phieu luu, tieu thuyet thu tin, tieu thuyet nhat ky, tieu thuyet dong y thuc, tieu thuyet tu lieu v.v.
Viec phan loai tieu thuyet theo đe tai ve co ban khong tranh khoi co cho chong cheo khi trong thuc te mot tieu thuyet co the vua thuoc dang nay vua thuoc dang khac, nhat la nhung sang tac trong thoi hien đai.


Xem them Truyen ke Genji: tieu thuyet đau tien cua nhan loai.
Đon Kihote: tieu thuyet đau tien cua chau Au.
Harry Potter: tieu thuyet noi tieng gan đay.


Chu thich Tham khao Muc tu Tieu thuyet trong cuon 150 thuat ngu van hoc, Lai Nguyen An bien soan, Nha xuat ban Đai hoc Quoc gia Ha Noi, in lan thu 2 co sua đoi bo sung. H. 2003.
Loai the van hoc, phan Tieu thuyet, trong cuon Co so ly luan van hoc, tap 2. Giao trinh đai hoc dung cho sinh vien khoa Ngu Van cac truong đai hoc, H, 1985.
Chuong 2: Tieu thuyet, trong cuon Ly luan van hoc, Ha Minh Đuc chu bien, Nha xuat ban Giao duc, tai ban lan 7. H. 2001.
Chuong 19: Tac pham tu su, trong cuon Ly luan van hoc, Phuong Luu chu bien, Nha xuat ban Giao duc, tai ban lan thu 4, H. 2004.


Đoc them = Quan điem đuong đai =
1651: Paul Scarron, The Comical Romance, Chapter XXI. "Which perhaps will not be found very Entertaining" (Luan Đon, 1700). Scarron's plea for a French production rivalling the Spanish "Novels". online edition
1670: Pierre Daniel Huet, "Traitte de l'origine des Romans", Preface to Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne comtesse de La Fayette, Zayde, histoire espagnole (Paris, 1670). A world history of fiction. pdf-edition Gallica France Luu tru ngay 27 thang 7 nam 2017 tai Wayback Machine
1683: [Du Sieur], "Sentimens sur l'histoire" from: Sentimens sur les lettres et sur l'histoire, avec des scruples sur le stile (Paris: C. Blageart, 1680). The new novels as published masterly by Marie de LaFayette. online edition
1702: Abbe Bellegarde, "Lettre a une Dame de la Cour, qui lui avoit demande quelques Reflexions sur l'Histoire" in: Lettres curieuses de litterature et de morale (La Haye: Adrian Moetjens, 1702). Paraphrase of Du Sieur's text. online edition
1705/1708/1712: [Anon.] In English, French and German the Preface of The Secret History of Queen Zarah and the Zarazians (Albigion, 1705). Bellegarde's article plagiarised. online edition
1713: Deutsche Acta Eruditorum, German review of the French translation of Delarivier Manley's New Atalantis 1709 (Leipzig: J. L. Gleditsch, 1713). A rare example of a political novel discussed by a literary journal. online edition
1715: Jane Barker, preface to her Exilius or the Banish'd Roman. A New Romance (Luan Đon: E. Curll, 1715). Plea for a "New Romance" following Fenlon's Telmachus. online edition
1718: Johann Friedrich Riederer, "Satyra von den Liebes-Romanen", from: Die abentheuerliche Welt in einer Pickelheerings-Kappe, 2 (Nurnberg, 1718). German satire about the wide spread reading of novels and romances. online edition
1742: Henry Fielding, preface to Joseph Andrews (Luan Đon, 1742). The "comic epic in prose" and its poetics. online edition Luu tru ngay 29 thang 6 nam 2017 tai Wayback Machine


= Tac pham thu cap =
Erwin Rohde Der Griechesche Roman und seine Vorlaufer (1876) [un-superseded history of the ancient novel] (tieng Đuc)
Lukacs, Georg (ngay 28 thang 7 nam 1971). The Theory of the Novel. trans. Anna Bostock. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press. ISBN 0-262-12048-8.{{Chu thich sach}}:  Quan ly CS1: nam (lien ket)
Bakhtin, Mikhail. About novel. The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays. Ed. Michael Holquist. Trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist. Austin and Luan Đon: University of Texas Press, 1981. [written during the 1930s]
Watt, Ian (1957). The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding. Berkeley: University of Los Angeles Press. ISBN 0-520-23069-8. Watt reads Robinson Crusoe as the first modern "novel" and interprets the rise of the modern novel of realism as an achievement of English literature, owed to a number of factors from early capitalism to the development of the modern individual.
Burgess, Anthony (1963). The Novel To-day. Luan Đon: Longmans, Green.
Burgess, Anthony (1967). The Novel Now: A Student's Guide to Contemporary Fiction. Luan Đon: Faber.
Ben Edwin Perry The Ancient Romances (Berkeley, 1967) review
Richetti, John J. (1969). Popular Fiction before Richardson. Narrative Patterns 1700-1739. Oxford: OUP. ISBN.
Burgess, Anthony (1970). "Novel, The" – classic Encyclopædia Britannica entry.
Miller, H. K., G. S. (1970) Rousseau and Eric Rothstein, The Augustan Milieu: Essays Presented to Louis A. Landa (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970). ISBN 0-19-811697-7
Arthur Ray Heiserman The Novel Before the Novel (Chicago, 1977) ISBN 0-226-32572-5
Madden, David (2006) [1979]. A Primer of the Novel: For Readers and Writers. Charles Bane, Sean M. Flory. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5708-1. Updated edition of pioneering typology and history of over 50 genres; index of types and technique, and detailed chronology.
Spufford, Magaret, Small Books and Pleasant Histories (Luan Đon, 1981).
Davis, Lennard J. (1983). Factual Fictions: The Origins of the English Novel. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-05420-3.
Spencer, Jane, The Rise of Woman Novelists. From Aphra Behn to Jane Austen (Oxford, 1986).
Armstrong, Nancy (1987). Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504179-8.
McKeon, Michael (1987). The Origins of the English Novel, 1600-1740. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-3291-8.
Reardon (ed.), Bryan (1989). Collected Ancient Greek Novels. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04306-5. {{Chu thich sach}}: |last= co ten chung (tro giup)
Hunter, J. Paul (1990). Before Novels: The Cultural Contexts of Eighteenth-Century English Fiction. New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-02801-1.
Ballaster, Ros (1992). Seductive Forms: Women's Amatory Fiction from 1684-1740. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-811244-0.
Doody, Margaret Anne (1996). The True Story of the Novel. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2168-8.
Relihan, Constance C. (ed.), Framing Elizabethan fictions: contemporary approaches to early modern narrative prose (Kent, Ohio/ Luan Đon: Kent State University Press, 1996). ISBN 0-87338-551-9
Reconsidering The Rise of the Novel: Eighteenth Century Fiction, Volume 12, Number 2-3, ed. David Blewett (January-April 2000).
McKeon, Michael, Theory of the Novel: A Historical Approach (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000).
Josephine Donovan, Women and the Rise of the Novel, 1405-1726 revised edition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000).
Simons, Olaf (2001). Marteaus Europa, oder, Der Roman, bevor er Literatur wurde: eine Untersuchung des Deutschen und Englischen Buchangebots der Jahre 1710 bis 1720. Amsterdam: Rodopi. ISBN 90-420-1226-9. A market study of the novel around 1700 interpreting contemporary criticism.
Inger Leemans, Het woord is aan de onderkant: radicale ideeen in Nederlandse pornografische romans 1670 - 1700 (Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2002). ISBN 90-75697-89-9.
Price, Leah (2003). The Anthology and the Rise of the Novel: From Richardson to George Eliot. Luan Đon: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-53939-0. from Leah Price
Rousseau, George (2004). Nervous Acts: Essays on Literature Culture and Sensibility (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004). ISBN 1-4039-3454-1
Mentz, Steve, Romance for sale in early modern England: the rise of prose fiction (Aldershot [etc.]: Ashgate, 2006). ISBN 0-7546-5469-9
Schultz, Lydia, "Flowing against the traditional stream: consciousness in Tillie Olsen's 'Tell Me a Riddle.'" Melus, 1997.
Rubens, Robert, "A hundred years of fiction: 1896 to 1996. (The English Novel in the Twentieth Century, part 12)." Contemporary Review, December 1996.


Lien ket ngoai Modern Library danh sach 100 tieu thuyet chay nhat
How to write a novel in 100 days or less Luu tru ngay 14 thang 10 nam 2009 tai Wayback Machine
National Novel Writing Month Luu tru ngay 21 thang 1 nam 2013 tai Wayback Machine – Write a novel in 30 days (November)
List of Classic Novels Luu tru ngay 9 thang 2 nam 2008 tai Wayback Machine compiled by Michael J. Farrand.