As was said in the introduction, the developments in the 18th century also prepared the ground for what happened in the following centuries. The rapid expansion of the canal system and inventions in the textile and iron industries weighed strongly in the success of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, to the same extent as the growth of commerce did. Likewise, cultural trends of the period opened the way for the development of the Victorian novel as well as of the modern novel in the 20th century.