English novel John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678) and Aphra Behn's "Oroonoko" (1688) are also contenders, while earlier works such as Sir Thomas Malory's "Morte d'Arthur", and even the "Prologue" to Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" have been suggested. Another important early novel is "Gulliver's Travels" (1726, amended 1735), by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, which is both a satire of human nature, as well as a parody of travellers' tales like "Robinson Crusoe". The rise of the novel as an important literary genre is generally associated with the growth of the middle class in England. Other major 18th-century English novelists are
The Travels of Lao Can change attitudes towards women, and engage in philosophical discussions about China's future. Within portions of the novel Lao Can acts as a detective in several small crime-related plots. Milena Doleželová-Velingerová, author of "Fiction from the End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897-1916)", wrote that the integration of the detective subplots, "entirely dissimilar to its lyrical components," "makes the novel so innovative." Referring to the use of poetry and symbolism in "Travels of Lao Can", Milena Doleželová-Velingerová, author of "Fiction from the End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897-1916)", wrote that "What sets