English Literature

In this course, Professor Grace Ioppolo (University of Reading) explores Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, ‘Death of a Salesman’. We begin by thinking about the historical context in which the play was written, focusing in particular on the ...

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. We begin with a broad introduction to the world of the novel, focusing in particular on life in America during the Great Depression ...

In this course, Dr Sarah Robertson (University of West England) explores John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath. We begin by providing some historical context to the novel, focusing in particular on the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl...

In this course, Dr William Blazek (Liverpool Hope University) explores F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. We being by thinking about the concept of the American Dream, focusing in particular on how some of the major characters in...

In this course, Dr Sarah Graham (University of Leicester) explores J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye. We begin with a broad introduction to Salinger's career as a writer as well as to what life was like...

In this course, Professor Gina Wisker (University of Brighton) explores Toni Morrison's 1987 novel, Beloved. We begin by providing a broad introduction to Black women's writing, focusing in particular on the works of Alice Walker, Zora Neale Thurston and bell...

In this course, Dr Kate McGettigan (Royal Holloway) explores Herman Melville's 1851 masterpiece, Moby-Dick. We begin by providing a broad introduction to Melville's life and career, including his experiences in the South Pacific and his brief but intense relationship with...

In this course, Professor Peter Messent explores Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel, A Farewell to Arms. We begin in the first module by thinking about the way Hemingway reacts in his language to the sensationalism and empty sloganeering of Allied propaganda...

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby. The course begins with a broader introduction to the novel, thinking about the context in which the novel was written and published,...

In this course, Dr Nicholas Lawrence (University of Warwick) explores Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, The Scarlett Letter (1850). In the first module, we think about the tension in the novel between the traditional and the modern, focusing in particular on...

In this course, Professor Helen Taylor (University of Exeter) explores Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. We start by thinking about tremendous impact of the novel, as well as the celebrated and critically acclaimed film adaptation starting Clark Gable and...

In this course, Dr Christopher Pittard (University of Portsmouth) explores Truman Capote's 1966 true crime classic, In Cold Blood. We begin by thinking about the genre of the novel, a genre which Capote referred to as 'the non-fiction novel'. After...