I was recently rereading Frankenstein, and in the preface, the author tries to refute the then-common notion that the writing and reading of novels represented

I was recently rereading Frankenstein, and in the preface, the author tries to refute the then-common notion that the writing and reading of novels represented a moral plague of laziness and indolence. The exciting plots and long page-counts were blamed for helping readers escape the real world and shirk their responsibilities.