Austen and Money
Full marks to anyone who sees how appropriate it is to have Jane Austen on a bank note given her practical concern with money in all its forms in her novels. Feel free to go and educate the BBC 🙂 … Read More
Jane Austen to Feature on New Bank Note
It’s just been announced that Jane Austen will feature on the new £10 bank note. This is part of an ongoing debate about why so few women feature on UK bank notes and whether or not this means that our … Read More
Women and the Eighteenth-Century Novel
The eighteenth-century canon is still largely dominated by male writers but researchers have shown increasing interest since the 1980s in eighteenth-century women not only as readers but as writers. My students are often surprised to learn that freedom of speech … Read More
18thc Women and Education
Extract from my free lecture on eighteenth-century literature, the Literature of Sensibility, women writers and readers: Women’s education was much debated throughout the century, not least in women’s novels but the generally accepted ideal was to educate women not for … Read More
Is Austen’s Persuasion a Romantic novel?
Some time ago I was asked to give a lecture on Persuasion as a Romantic novel – a bit of a challenge because I’d never really seen it as such :-). However, I was lecturing on a Romantic Literature course … Read More
Gulliver & 18thc Europeans as ‘pernicious odious vermin’!
Swift was a humanitarian, deeply concerned with the political issues of his day and practically involved in supporting the poor and fighting for change. Gulliver’s Travels, much loved by children for its fantastical figures, tells us much about the political … Read More
Eighteenth-Century England and Education
Taken from my lecture on Gulliver’s Travels. There are some good things about Lilliputian society – Gulliver is impressed by their education system because they actually educate women. The thought of educating women may not cause too many ripples in … Read More
Devon Council To Ban the Apostrophe?
No, it’s not April Fools’ Day… Extract from The Huffington Post: Councillors in Devon are considering banning apostrophes from their street signs because of the “potential confusion” the punctuation causes… Council communications manager Andrew Lacey said: “Our proposed policy on … Read More
Who was Petrarch?
Who was Petrarch and why do lecturers in English Literature talk so much about him? Petrarch is a particularly important figure in Renaissance culture. Campbell argues that ‘Petrarch was responsible for the idea of romantic love which was celebrated in … Read More
What was the ‘Renaissance’?
Students are often rather put off by the term ‘Renaissance’, yet surprised to find themselves becoming fans of Elizabeth I and enjoying Renaissance literature in spite of the language… Stick with it guys. I don’t know who told you that … Read More
Shakespeare & Storm Imagery
Taken from my lecture on The Tempest. The full Tempest Lecture text is available here. The Sea / Storm The sea can act as a powerful image of destructive power, as in Titus Andronicus: ‘I stand as one upon a … Read More
Richardson, Aubin & rape in 18thc novels
Taken from my essay, ‘”Minerva’s favourite Sholar”: Penelope Aubin Reconsidered’ – full text available here. Bizarrely, the terms ‘rape’ and ‘seduction’ are often used pretty much interchangeably in eighteenth-century writings. Women were often accused of passive consent in rape cases, … Read More
Christmas, Presents & Dickens
So why do people celebrate Christmas with presents? The Bible presents Christ coming to earth as God’s gift to humanity: ‘he will save his people from their sins’(Matthew 1:21). The Bible consistently stresses the need to share the love of … Read More
Christmas – what the panto didn’t tell you
The first Christmas led to terrrifying bloodshed. Jesus may have come to bring peace between God and man but Herod (the political King of the Jews) was so afraid of the idea of the Messiah, ‘the king of the Jews’ … Read More
It’s Christmas. What the Dickens?
Christmas has always been controversial – right from the start: The virgin birth Even Mary found it difficult at first! Mary is clearly afraid of Gabriel initially. He reassures her, “Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you”(Luke 1:28). When … Read More
Dr Jim Eckman on Dickens and Christmas
What we perceive to be Christmas tradition in the UK owes much to Dickens. The following, including the image, is taken from Dr Jim Eckman’s article, ‘Charles Dickens and the Message of Christmas’, which can be read in full here. … Read More
Heathcliff Kills Puppy
Heathcliff Kills Puppy Yes, he does. Honest. Sorry about that. Why is close reading important? Why can’t I just skim through a book to get the plot basics? If you skim through Wuthering Heights you’ll miss the bit where Heathcliff … Read More
‘My lecturer says I’m wrong but I think my opinion is as valid as his / hers.’
Lecturers do not usually tell students they’re plain ‘wrong’ unless they really are barking up the wrong tree, in which case they need to be told so that they can get back on track. Lecturers are not divine so cannot … Read More
‘I’m lost & the set texts make it worse’
‘I don’t really know what’s relevant – I just get lost and the set texts don’t help because they’re too complicated’. There are two issues here: you find the set texts difficult to read and you’re not sure how to … Read More
Hitting the text wall: ‘nothing goes in’
‘I’m hitting a text wall – I read a page over and over and the words just swim in front of me – nothing goes in.’ Sounds like you’re having to mark too many exam scripts :-). If you’re a … Read More