Slovene fiction
It is predictable for the narrative lengths of 20,000–45,000 words, growing longer in time, it is plot-oriented, uninhibitedly didactic, written for uneducated lower-social-class readers and hence of minor artistic value.
Three types of instruction were spread by it: religious in Christoph-von-Schmid-tales, economic in rural stories, and political (patriotic and national) in historical tales.
Librettos for singspiels Tičnik (1866) by Benjamin Ipavec and Gorenjski slavček (1870) by Luiza Pesjak and Anton Foerster belong to narratives, too.
Josip Jurčič's novels Lepa Vida and Deseti brat were prepared for opera by Risto Savin and Mirko Polič, respectively.
and conflicts (e.g. between the father and the son) shape the characteristic atmosphere, especially stressed in the rural idyllic story (Anton Koder, Marjetica, 1877).
The creators of the rural story of 19th century were writers with liberal leanings (Josip Jurčič's Sosedov sin, 1868 (The neighbor's son), stands at the beginning of the continuous production of the genre), but the major part of it was produced by conservative Catholic authors, who criminalized the poor, ascribing them alcoholism, superstition, gambling addiction etc.
In 1907, the modernist Ivan Cankar wrote his Hlapec Jernej (The Bailiff Yerney) as a positive personal version of the rural story.
The classics Fran Saleški Finžgar and social realist Prežihov Voranc (novellas Samorastniki, 1941 (The Self-Sown), novel Jamnica, 1945) wrote rural stories, too.
Luiza Pesjak (Beatin dnevnik, 1887) and Pavlina Pajk (two dozens of long narratives, written between 1876 and 1900) introduced a Slovene version of Frauenroman modelled according to the German popular writer Eugenie Marlitt and has been hence given only a peripheral importance by critics.
The genre is recognizable by a Cinderella motif, a love triangle, a happy end, an illness, and by a heroine being dedicated to a categorical imperative.
Literary folklore narratives encompass several collections of jokes, fairy tales (pravljice) and legends (pripovedke) about mythical characters Kralj Matjaž, Kurent, Peter Klepec, Lepa Vida etc.
The Slovene literary system was founded to serve the interests of middle class and the nationally aware intellectuals, so it favoured non-rural themes.
Ivan Pregelj is recognized by historical novels with priests as protagonists, Slavko Grum included own deliric experiences in his short stories.
Some more classics: Juš Kozak (Alpine story Beli macesen, 1926, family saga Šempeter, 1931), Prežihov Voranc (war novel Doberdob, Požganica with a group of protagonists), Fran Saleški Finžgar wrote rural tales, Edvard Kocbek has been severely criticised for his partizan novellas Strah in pogum (1951).
