psychological novel

American  

noun

1. a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its characters and explores the various levels of mental activity.

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Etymology

Origin of psychological novel

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

The psychological novel gained prominence as the 19th-century world became mapped and colonized, the mind offering a new realm for discovery.

From The Wall Street Journal

Eliot wrote the seminal psychological novel “Middlemarch,” a matchless magnum opus Virginia Woolf famously considered “one of the few English novels written for grown-up people.”

From New York Times

Daniel Menaker was the author of several books, including the memoir “My Mistake” and the comic psychological novel “The Treatment,” adapted into a 2007 movie starring Chris Eigeman and Ian Holm.

From Seattle Times

Immediately, we’re taken out of the sense of interiority we associate with the psychological novel.

From The Guardian

It’s a masterful psychological novel, full of rich characterization and a surprisingly gripping narrative.

From Los Angeles Times