--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The main question to a novel is -- did it…" description: "\"The main question to a novel is -- did it amuse? were you surprised at dinner coming so soon? did you mistake eleven for ten? were you too late to dres..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/sydney-smith-6523_books_the-main-question-to-a-novel-is-did-it-a_1341974.png" --- # The main question to a novel is -- did it amuse? were you… ![“The main question to a novel is -- did it amuse? were you surprised at dinner coming so soon? did you mistake eleven for ten? were you too late to dress? and did you sit up beyond the usual hour? If a novel produces these effects, it is good; if it does not -- story, language, love, scandal itself…” quote by Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/sydney-smith-6523_books_the-main-question-to-a-novel-is-did-it-a_1341974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/sydney-smith-6523_books_the-main-question-to-a-novel-is-did-it-a_1341974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26e/sydney-smith-6523_books_the-main-question-to-a-novel-is-did-it-a_1341974.png) > “The main question to a novel is -- did it amuse? were you surprised at dinner coming so soon? did you mistake eleven for ten? were you too late to dress? and did you sit up beyond the usual hour? If a novel produces these effects, it is good; if it does not -- story, language, love, scandal itself cannot save it. It is only meant to please; and it must do that or it does nothing.” [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A novel should entertain and surprise, delivering pleasure through its story, language, and emotional impact; without that, it fails its purpose. **In simple terms:** A good novel entertains and delights. Key Takeaway Focus on creating enjoyable, engaging narratives. Themes entertainment literature pleasure Mood playful reflective Type critical observational When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing classes - publishing decisions - reading recommendations Key Concepts Aesthetics narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - What elements make a story truly enjoyable? - How do surprise and amusement affect reader engagement? A Different Perspective If a novel is overly did, it may lack depth or lasting value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dresses/) [Eleven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eleven/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Hour Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hour-novel-4536809/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-love/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-did-1568433/) [Novel Produces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-produces-4536808/) [Please](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/please/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Question Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-novel-1026637/) [Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandal/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [Usual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usual/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Two questions form the foundation of all novels: "What if?" and "What next?" 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Every day sends to their graves obscure men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-great-deal-of-talent-is-lost-to-the-world-for-want-of-a-little/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A man who wishes to make his way in life could do no better than go through the world with a boiling tea-kettle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-man-who-wishes-to-make-his-way-in-life-could-do-no-better-than-go/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [ \[T\]he 47th proposition in Euclid might now be voted down with as much ease as any proposition in politics; and therefore if Lord Hawkesbury… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/t-he-47th-proposition-in-euclid-might-now-be-voted-down-with-as-much/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/be-what-nature-intended-you-for-and-you-will-succeed-be-anything-else/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [To business that we love we rise bedtime, and go to't with delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/to-business-that-we-love-we-rise-bedtime-and-go-to-t-with-delight/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [The schoolboy whips his taxed top; the beardless youth manages his taxed horse with a taxed bridle on a taxed road; and the dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/the-schoolboy-whips-his-taxed-top-the-beardless-youth-manages-his/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [I always fear that creation will expire before teatime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/i-always-fear-that-creation-will-expire-before-teatime/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) [Explore all 98 Sydney Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The main question to a novel is -- did it amuse? were you surprised at dinner coming so soon? did you mistake eleven for ten? were you too late to dress? and did you sit up beyond the usual hour? If a novel produces these effects, it is good; if it does not -- story, language, love, scandal itself cannot save it. 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