(Recorded Course) The Nineteenth-Century Novel (Mansfield Park, Oliver Twist, & North and South) with Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

Instructor Access (Optional grading support) is available for this course. Please note: this is ONLY recommended if you wish to write the optional paper. All quizzes are internally graded in this course.

Dive into some of the richest and most fascinating novels of the nineteenth century!

How to get the most out of The Nineteenth-Century Novel course with Professor Eleanor Bourg Nicholson:

  • Read the course materials below and do the assigned reading (Volume 1 of Mansfield Park, Chapters. 1-18) before viewing the first class recording and read all assigned texts/chapters before all subsequent class recordings. IF YOU DON'T READ THE MATERIALS, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE CLASSES!!
  • Take the weekly identification quiz before viewing each week's class recording. It’ll be posted first each week before the recording. Refresh your memory on plot/character points you might have missed. Take the quiz a second time if you need to!
  • As you read, note down themes or questions you want to have answered in class.
  • Make sure to do any reading assigned before watching the class recording.
  • You do NOT need to take notes during class unless it helps you focus!
  • Rewatch the recording and/or review the PowerPoint from class as needed.
  • Do the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for each week.
  • Repeat each week until the course is completed.
  • Once the course is completed to the parent's satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.

IF planning on the optional literary-critical writing assignment:

  • Visit this course page to read detailed instructions.
  • If using Instructor Access, contact the Instructor early to discuss possible topics and your proposed timeline for composition and completion. If not using Instructor Access, please discuss potential topics with a parent.
  • As you read, mark or otherwise identify passages that might be useful in developing your paper.
  • Be prompt with your deadlines.

Special notes: Includes optional writing component.

Total number of class meetings: 12

Duration of each class: 55 minutes.

Prerequisite: Willingness to read and openness to enjoying the works. Read Volume 1 of Mansfield Park (Chapters. 1-18) before Class 1.

Suggested Grade Level: 9th to 12th grade

Suggested Credit: One full semester Literature or Victorian Literature

Instructor: Eleanor Bourg Nicholson

Instructor Email: ebnicholson@protonmail.com

Course Description: This course will explore the purpose of the novel through three excellent representatives. Beginning with Jane Austen’s exquisite anti-romance Mansfield Park, we will survey its literary, social, and historical context as well as take time to enjoy the brilliance of “the last great representative of the classical tradition of virtues” (according to philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre). From this promising beginning, we will plunge into the Victorian period with Charles Dickens’ darkly colorful Oliver Twist and Elizabeth Gaskell’s quietly challenging romance North and South. Through all three works, we will delve into the purpose of the novel and its utilization as an intimate portrait of human life, as a vehicle for social critique, and as the public stage on which the questions of sin, love, violence, and redemption are played out. In addition to cultivating artistic appreciation and a love of reading, this class facilitates the development of the literary-critical skillset, the disciplined use of the imagination, and a strong knowledge of historical and literary context.  

Course Outline:

  • Week 1: Introduction; Mansfield Park (1814), Vol. I (through Ch. 12). (Without Volume Divisions: Ch. 1-12.)
  • Week 2: Mansfield Park, Vol. I (Chs. 12-18) and Vol. II (through Ch. 3). (Without Volume Divisions: Ch. 13-21.)
  • Week 3: Mansfield Park, Vol. II (to its conclusion). (Without Volume Divisions: Chapters 22-31.)
  • Week 4: Mansfield Park, Vol. III. (Without Volume Divisions: Chapters 32-48.)
  • Week 5: Oliver Twist (1837-9), Chs. 1-12.
  • Week 6: Oliver Twist, Chs. 13-24.
  • Week 7: Oliver Twist, Chs. 25-39.
  • Week 8: Oliver Twist, Chs. 40-53.
  • Week 9: North and South (1855), Vol. I, Chs. 1-12.
  • Week 10: North and South, Vol. I, Chs. 13-25.
  • Week 11: North and South, Vol. II, Chs. 1-14
  • Week 12: North and South, Vol. II, Chs. 15-27; Review and Conclusion.

Course Materials:

Penguin, Oxford or Dover editions recommended; other editions accepted

Homework: Expect to spend about three hours reading each week, 12 identification quizzes (one per week); three review quizzes; final quiz. This course relies heavily upon in-class participation. A literary-critical writing project opportunity is available for extra credit.