All 16 Uses of

novel

in

Vanity Fair

But be sure of this—they were perfectly happy, and correct in their behaviour; and as they had been in the habit of being together any time these fifteen years, their tete-a-tete offered no particular novelty.†
Chpt 6

novelty = the quality of being new and original

—so did this bowl of rack punch influence the fates of all the principal characters in this "Novel without a Hero," which we are now relating.†
Chpt 6

novel = new and original

She had little Laura Martin home for the holidays; and my belief is, she made a confidante of her, and promised that Laura should come and live with her when she was married, and gave Laura a great deal of information regarding the passion of love, which must have been singularly useful and novel to that little person.
Chpt 12

But if Osborne's were short and soldierlike letters, it must be confessed, that were Miss Sedley's letters to Mr. Osborne to be published, we should have to extend this novel to such a multiplicity of volumes as not the most sentimental reader could support; that she not only filled sheets of large paper, but crossed them with the most astonishing perverseness; that she wrote whole pages out of poetry-books without the least pity; that she underlined words and passages with quite a frantic emphasis; and, in fine, gave the usual tokens of her condition.†
Chpt 12

His secluded wife ever smiling and cheerful, his little comfortable lodgings, snug meals, and homely evenings, had all the charms of novelty and secrecy.†
Chpt 17

novelty = the quality of being new and original

Every day during this happy time there was novelty and amusement for all parties.†
Chpt 28

All children were so: a little anxious for novelty, and—no, not selfish, but self-willed.†
Chpt 50

Uses with a meaning too common or too rare to warrant foucs:

and her lips with the freshest of smiles, and she had a pair of eyes which sparkled with the brightest and honestest good-humour, except indeed when they filled with tears, and that was a great deal too often; for the silly thing would cry over a dead canary-bird; or over a mouse, that the cat haply had seized upon; or over the end of a novel, were it ever so stupid; and as for saying an unkind word to her, were any persons hard-hearted enough to do so—why, so much the worse for them.†
Chpt 1

The causes which had led to the deplorable illness of Miss Crawley, and her departure from her brother's house in the country, were of such an unromantic nature that they are hardly fit to be explained in this genteel and sentimental novel.†
Chpt 14

On the morrow, as Rebecca was gazing from the window, she startled Miss Crawley, who was placidly occupied with a French novel, by crying out in an alarmed tone, "Here's Sir Pitt, Ma'am!" and the Baronet's knock followed this announcement.†
Chpt 14

My nerves really won't bear my brother at this moment," cried out Miss Crawley, and resumed the novel.†
Chpt 14 *

It was scarcely out of his mouth when Mrs. Firkin and Miss Briggs had streamed up the stairs, had rushed into the drawing-room where Miss Crawley was reading the French novel, and had given that old lady the astounding intelligence that Sir Pitt was on his knees, proposing to Miss Sharp.†
Chpt 15

If this is a novel without a hero, at least let us lay claim to a heroine.†
Chpt 30

She knew the story as well as if she had read it in one of her favourite novel-books—Fatherless Fanny, or the Scottish Chiefs.†
Chpt 58

One of her gowns hung over the bed, another depending from a hook of the door; her bonnet obscured half the looking-glass, on which, too, lay the prettiest little pair of bronze boots; a French novel was on the table by the bedside, with a candle, not of wax.†
Chpt 65

Definitions:

(1) (novel as in: a novel situation)
new and original -- typically something considered good
(2) (meaning too common or rare to warrant focus)
More commonly, novel is used as a noun to refer to work of fiction that is published as a book. In the form novelty, the word can refer to an inexpensive, mass-produced item of interest such as a toy, trinket, or item given away to advertise.