SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The novel first appeared in Thailand approximately one hundred years ago. But for many years it lacked the cultural prestige of its Western counterpart. When the first histories of Thai literature appeared in the 1950s, they made no mention of the novel and it was not until the 1960s that the first attempts to record its history were made. This study plots the major landmarks in charting the history of the Thai novel in the ensuing thirty years. Chapter 1 discusses the terms for 'literature' and the 'novel' and looks at the first histories of Thai literature and histories of Thai literature written in English. Chapter 2 surveys the work of the first 'historians' of the Thai novel, Yot Watcharasathian, Prakat Watcharapho'n and Sathian Chanthimatho'n. Chapter 3 examines the contribution of academics, and in particular, the works of Suphanni Waratho'n and Trisin Bunkhacho'n. Chapter 4 presents data based on research into the place of the novel in today's educational curriculum in Bangkok. Chapter 5 looks at two recent major works on the Thai novel. - Marcel Barang's The 20 Best Novels of Thailand and a textbook, Phattanakan Wannakhadi Thai.