It's difficult to say with absolute certainty who wrote the 1st English novel. However, Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' is a strong contender. His work had a collection of tales told by different characters during a journey, which was a new and complex way of structuring a story at that time. This structure and the vivid characterizations in it were steps towards what we now recognize as a novel.
As mentioned before, if we consider 'The Tale of Genji' as the first modern novel, it was written by Murasaki Shikibu.
Horace Walpole wrote the first gothic novel, which was 'The Castle of Otranto'.
Edgar Allan Poe is often credited with writing one of the first detective novels. His works, like 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', contain many of the elements that are now characteristic of detective fiction.
Mary Shelley is often credited with writing the first sci - fi novel, 'Frankenstein'.
Geoffrey Chaucer is often credited with writing one of the oldest English novels, which is The Canterbury Tales. He was an important figure in English literature during the 14th century.
While Geoffrey Chaucer is a strong contender for writing the first English novel with 'The Canterbury Tales', there are other early works and authors like Malory who also played important roles in the development of the English novel.
The novel The English Patient was written by Michael Ondaatje.
The author of 'The English Patient' is Michael Ondaatje. His writing style in this novel is quite distinctive and captivating.
Horace Walpole penned the first English Gothic novel, namely 'The Castle of Otranto'. His novel was a significant departure from the prevailing literary styles of his time. It was through his creative use of elements like the dark and mysterious castle, the presence of the supernatural, and the sense of impending doom that he was able to create a new genre that would have a lasting impact on English literature.
Wilkie Collins wrote what is considered the first English detective novel, 'The Moonstone'.