What defines a novel?

Although the novel is a particularly difficult thing to define when it comes to forms of literature, it is possible to outline the key facets that come together in the making of a novel. To put it briefly, the novel is an extended piece of prose fiction that supersedes the short story in length (although there is no clear cut division in length between short story and novel(la)). The novel parodies, quotes, and transforms other genres; as Virginia Woolf said, the novel is 'the most pliable of all forms'. It can be moulded into and from poetry, as we see with Don Quixote - which is often considered the first modern novel.