What was the first ever fantasy novel?

Answer 1

The Bible.

Actually, the Bible is Myth...so too are Gilgamesh, Homer's works, the Greek myths and any other works of the ancient religions.

The first ever Fantasy novel, would have to be both written in Novel form with content centered around the Fantastic. Perhaps the best answer then is, 'Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women'--or, 'Phantastes', by George MacDonald, published in 1858. This novel 'baptized' C.S. Lewis into the genre.

However, an earlier novel that could well fit the bill, is Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'--published in 1818. However, Frankenstein is either also the first Science Fiction novel, or rejected by some readers as Fantasy because the monster is created by Dr. Frankenstein--a scientist.

Then there's a work by Jonathan Swift, called, 'Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'...better known as, 'Gulliver's Travels'--published in 1726. Yet, that work is technically Political Allegory.

'Robinson Crusoe', by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719, is considered the first fiction novel. How fantastic or realistic does that novel seem to you?