Overview
This course introduces the student to some of the major English novels of the nineteenth century. Starting with Pride and Prejudice (1813), it moves chronologically through the century, examining the development of fiction through such representative works as Frankenstein (1818), Jane Eyre (1847), Wuthering Heights (1847), Vanity Fair (1847–48), Bleak House (1853), North and South (1855), Barchester Towers (1857), Middlemarch (1874), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891), and The Way of All Flesh (1903). This survey covers various types of fiction from the novel of manners, the Gothic romance, and the historical romance, to satiric, comic, and tragic novels.
Note: Since this is a senior course, we expect students to have good reading and writing skills as well as the basic critical tools and knowledge of literary forms and techniques that are acquired in an introductory university English literature course like Athabasca University's English 211 and 212. Students who do not have the recommended credits in an introductory English literature course may experience significant difficulty with the essay assignments and examinations.
Evaluation
To receive credit for ENGL 395, you must complete and submit all assignments and write the final exam. To pass, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least D (50 percent) on all assignments and the final exam, and achieve an overall grade of at least D (50 percent) for the course.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Three (3) Context Reviews | 10% |
| Assignment 2: Oral Midterm | 10% |
| Assignment 3: Essay of Comparison and Contrast | 20% |
| Assignment 4: Research Essay | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh (ca. 1884). Project Gutenberg ed., 2021.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813). Broadview, 2002.
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818). Broadview, 2012.
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847). Broadview, 1999.
Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (1847). WW Norton, 2003.
William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1847-48). WW Norton, 1994.
Charles Dickens, Bleak House (1853). WW Norton, 1977.
Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (1855). WW Norton, 2005.
Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers (1857). Oxford UP, 2014.
George Eliot, Middlemarch (1874). WW Norton, 2000.
Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891). Broadview, 2007.
Other materials
All other materials will be available online.