This essay surveys literary criticism at the intersection of narrative theory and the Victorian novel, which often takes one of two major approaches. In the first approach, critics examine how the act of narration itself shapes and constrains Victorian narratives, whereas in the second approach, critics focus on the relationship between Victorian narratives and their audience. The piece concludes with an account of how psychological perspectives on reading can expand narrative theory’s understanding of what readers do with literary texts and what texts do to their readers in turn.