The English and Irish Novel: 1840s–1920s Monday

Course Name

The English and Irish Novel: 1840s–1920s

Course Description

This course traces the development of the English and Irish novel across nearly a century of change, from the height of the Victorian era to the early years of Literary Modernism. Through five landmark works, we will explore how the novel's concerns shifted over time. We will look at the plot, class, and moral structure of each work as well as mood, perception of each story, and the inner workings of the mind. Each week combines close reading with group discussion, giving participants the chance to engage deeply with these texts and with each other's perspectives.

We will study the following literary works:

Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte, 1847)

Great Expectations (Charles Dickens, 1861)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde, 1891)

Dubliners (James Joyce, 1914)

Mrs. Dalloway (Virgina Woolf, 1925)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the key stylistic and thematic differences between Victorian and early modernist fiction
• Read closely and critically, analyzing how narrative voice, structure, and language shape meaning
• Discuss and articulate their interpretations of complex literary texts in a group setting
• Situate each of the five novels within its historical and literary context
• Recognize the influence of these works on the broader development of the English and Irish novel

Who this course is for

This course is suited to anyone with a curiosity about literature and a willingness to read and discuss closely - no prior academic background in literary studies is required.

Required Materials

A notebook & pen / laptop, and a folder to hold weekly handout sheets.

Notes:

• This course is especially well suited to adult learners. It offers a relaxed but rigorous space to engage with literature, one that draws on the depth of life experience adult participants bring to themes like class, identity, love, and time. Whether revisiting books read years ago or discovering them for the first time, participants will find a manageable weekly commitment and a genuine opportunity for intellectual conversation and community.

Weekly Schedule

❖ Week 1 - Introduction

Setting up the course's arc: what defines the Victorian novel, what defines literary modernism, and how the five books we'll read trace that shift, from external plot to internal perception.

❖ Week 2 -Wuthering Heights (whole novel)

Discussion of the novel as a whole: narrative structure, framing narrators (Lockwood, Nelly Dean), and the themes of obsession, class, and landscape. Assigned Reading given to students for the following class.

❖ Week 3 - Wuthering Heights, Chapter 9 (close reading)

Close Class Reading: Close reading of the "I am Heathcliff" scene; the emotional and thematic core of the novel.

❖ Week 4 - Great Expectations (whole novel)

Discussion of the novel as a whole: plot, coincidence, class anxiety, and the shaping of Pip's identity. Assigned Reading given to students for the following class.

❖ Week 5 - Great Expectations, Chapter 8 (close reading)

Close Class Reading: Close reading of Pip's first visit to Satis House; the scene that sets the novel's engine of shame and ambition in motion.

❖ Week 6 - The Picture of Dorian Gray (whole novel)

Discussion of the novel as a whole: aestheticism, moral ambiguity, and the hinge point between Victorian certainty and modernist unease. Assigned Reading given to students for the following class.

❖ Week 7 - The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 2 (close reading)

Close Class Reading: Close reading of Dorian's first glimpse of his portrait and the wish that drives the novel — the Faustian bargain in miniature.

❖ Week 8 - Dubliners (whole collection)

Discussion of the collection as a whole: paralysis, epiphany, and Joyce's departure from conventional plot. Assigned Reading given to students for the following class.

❖ Week 9 - Dubliners, "Araby" (close reading)

Close Class Reading: Close reading of the complete short story; a compact, teachable example of Joyce's epiphany structure.

❖ Week 10 - Mrs. Dalloway and Course Wrap-Up

Discussion of the novel as a whole, close reading of its opening pages to examine stream-of-consciousness technique, and a closing conversation drawing together the arc of the full course, from Brontë's layered narration to Woolf's fluid one. (This particular book choice is subject to change depending on the assignment set for final week)