The Serial Novel in the West and Iran: A Comparative Historical Study

Document Type : Research

Authors
Abdolrasoul shakeri 1
Masoud Farahmandfar 2
1 Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities, SAMT, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor of English Literature, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/fis.2026.11106
Abstract
Originating in the French press in the nineteenth century, the serial novel later spread to other countries. Its subsequent spread in European countries and the United States appears to have followed broadly similar patterns. However, given the various differences between Iranian society and these Western societies, a comparative study of the emergence of the serial novel in the historical context of Iran is of particular importance. In this article, first, a concise overview of the status of the serial novel in Western countries (including France, England, Russia, and the United States) was presented. Then, through archive-based research examining the Iranian newspapers Iran (New Series), Kushesh, Shafaq-e Sorkh, Eqdam, Setareye Iran, and Setareye Jahan (from Azar 1300 to Khordad 1320 [December 1921–June 1941]), all novels published in these newspapers were extracted and categorized according to whether they were original or translated works, as well as by type of novel. In addition to identifying several major differences between the situation of the serial novel in Iran and in the West, it was found that the vast majority of translated novels in Iran during the period under study were translated from French—a finding that indicates the strong influence of translations of French serial novels on the emergence and popularization of the Persian serial novel.
Keywords
serial novel in the West
serial novel in France
serial novel in Iran
comparative-historical approach
Āriānpur, Yahyā. (1993). Az sabā ta nimā [From saba to Nima]. vol. 2. Tehran: Zavvār. [In Persian]
Balaÿ, Christophe (1998). Peydāyeš-e romān-e fārsi [The genesis of the persian novel]. tr. Mahvaš Qavimi & Nasrin Xattāt. Tehran: Moʿin & French institute of iranian studies. [In Persian]
Balaÿ, Christophe & Cuypers, Michel (1987). Sarčešme-haye dāstān kutāh-e fārsi [Aux sources de la nouvelle persane]. tr. Ahmad Karimi Hakkāk. Tehran: Papirus. [In Persian]
Behzādi, ʿAli (1994). “Zohur, owj va soqut-e pāvaraqi-nevisi dar matbuʿāt-e iran” [The rise, peak, and fall of serialized fiction in the iranian press]. Gardoon, 25-26, 42-44. [In Persian]
Beyzāvi, Susan (2000). “Romān-e pāvaraqi: enqelābi adabi” [The serial novel: a literary revolution]. Isfahan university research journal, 11 (1-2), 1-20. [In Persian]
Carr, E. H. (2008). Tārix Čist? [What is history?] tr. Hasan Kāmšād. Tehran: Xārazmi. [In Persian]
Elāhi, Sadr al-din (1998). “Darāmadi bar aquleye pāvaraqi-nevisi dar iran (baxš-e 1)” [An introduction to the category of serialized fiction in iran (part 1)]. Iranian studies, 2, 327-341. [In Persian]
Elāhi, Sadr al-din (1998). “Darāmadi bar maquleye pāvaraqi-nevisi dar iran (baxš-e 3/Alef)” [An introduction to the category of serialized fiction in iran (part 3/A)]. Iranian studies, 40, 716-733. [In Persian]
Elāhi, Sadr al-din (1998). “Darāmadi bar maquleye pāvaraqi-nevisi dar iran (baxš-e 3/Be)” [An introduction to the category of serialized fiction in iran (part 3/B)]. Iranian studies, 41, 101-124. [In Persian]
Qāssemi, Seyyed Farid (2015). Tārix-e matbuʿat-e iran [History of iranian journalism]. Tehran: Sāniyeh. [In Persian]
Jahānbeglu, Rāmin (2016). Iran va modernite: goftegu-hāye Rāmin Jahānbeglu [Iran and modernity: conversations with Ramin Jahanbeglu] (4th ed.). Qatre. [In Persian]
Mirʿabedini, Hasan (2005). Sad sāl dāstān-nevisiye iran [One hundred years of iranian fiction]. vols. 1-2. Tehran: Češmeh. [In Persian]
Pārsānasab, Mohammad (2011). Nazarie va naqd-e romān-e tārixiye fārsi: 1869-1953 [Theory and critique of the persian historical novel: 1869-1953]. Češmeh. [In Persian]
Sāroxāni, Bāqer (2004). Raveš-hāye tahqiq dar ʿolum-e ejtemāʿi [Research methods in social sciences]. Institute for humanities and cultural studies. [In Persian]
Sepehrān, Kāmrān (2002). Radd-e pāye tazalzol: romān-e tārixiye iran 1921-1941 [Traces of instability: the iranian historical novel, 1921-1941]. Širāzeh. [In Persian]
Šākeri, ʿAbd-al Rasul; Farahmandfar, Masʿud (2022). “Mardom va ʿadabiāt: negāhi be tārix-e romān-e ʿāmmeh-pasand: yek dowre-bandiye pišnahādi” [The people and literature: a look at the history of popular fiction: a proposed periodization]. Linguistic research and applied literature studies. 1 (1). 39–50. [In Persian]
Šokrxāh, Yunes (2015). “Pišineye matbuʿāt-e jahān” dar Tārix-e matbuʿāt-e iran [“A background of world journalism” in The history of iranian journalism]. Tehran: Sāniyeh. [In Persian]
Journals
Eqdām. (1926, March 29 – 1931, November 3). (Vol. 5, No. 1 [Serial No. 173] – No. 1395). [Managed by Abbās Xalili]. [In Persian]
Iran. (1916, November 1 – 1953, March 5). (Vol. 1, No. 1 – No. 9594). [In Persian]
Kušeš. (1923, January 3 – 1941, August 19). (Vol. 1, No. 1 – Vol. 19, No. 4685). [Managed by Šokr-allāh Xan Safavi]. [In Persian]
Setāreye jahān. (1929, January 7 – 1938, August 11). (Vol. 1, No. 1 – Vol. 10, No. 2561). [Abolqāsem E’tesamzadeh, Owner & Manager]. [In Persian]
Setāreye iran. (1925, March 19 – 1928, July 22). (No. 79 – Vol. 13, No. 273). [Abolqāsem Eʿtesāmzādeh Editor-in-Chief]. [In Persian]
Šafaq-e sorx. (1922, February 30 – 1935, April 12). (No. 1 – No. 2913). [ʿAli Dašti, Founder & Writer]. [In Persian]