The English Novel

By: Timothy Spurgin, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Timothy Spurgin

Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Who can imagine life without novels? They have served not merely as diversions but as companions for so much of our lives, offering hours of pleasure and, at their best, insights few of us can ever quantify. But the simple joy of reading novels sometimes obscures our awareness of the deeper roles they play in our lives: honing our intellect, quenching our emotional thirsts, and shaping our sense of ourselves and of the world we live in. And this may be especially obvious in the case of the English novel, as you'll see in this engaging series of 24 lectures from an award-winning teacher.

Under Professor Spurgin's guidance, you'll learn how the period that gave rise to the novel in England corresponded with a convulsive social transformation - one that produced the world's first modern, capitalist economy. Along the way, traditional social values often appeared to be outdated, as did traditional narrative forms.

You'll see how the great English novelists were eager to create something new and different, breaking from traditions in which stories were usually centered on aristocrats and nobles to focus instead on the thoughts and feelings of ordinary people and taking pains to capture the rhythms of everyday life. At the same time, they also reacted to a number of larger developments: industrialization and urbanization, democratization and globalization.

By placing more than two centuries of great English novelists in the context of British history and showing how their lives intersected with the creation of their art, these lectures offer a fascinating look at a form of enduring popularity and importance whose influence has been felt everywhere novels are read.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Loved My First Course!

One of my greatest regrets in life is not taking better advantage of my years in college. Since then, I have tried to make up for lost time by reading many classics on my own and English authors happen to be my favorites. This course put all of those favorites into historical context. It gave me a greater appreciation and insight into the works I've been reading over the years. It also helped explain some of my least favorite books giving me a better appreciation of their context. Highly, highly recommend. I've already started my second course on Metaphysics!

Just a whole lot of literary fun

Every lecture a gem - 6 stars if I could. I gleaned new insights from novels I'd previously read and was inspired to jump onto the rest. Spurgin provides a sturdy historical framework, highlighting many of the personal and contemporary social influences in play for each author and their work. The English Novel would a great study of history in its own right. Added bonus - Spurgin is also very easy on the ear. I look forward to giving this complete series a second go-round.

Amazing, one of the best great courses

I was in love with this course halfway through and even more astonished by it at the end. I’ve listen to about 30 of these great courses and this is possibly the best. So informative, wastes none of the listeners time, so pleasant and easy to listen to, never condescending, always enjoyable. Thank you!

Amazing! Precise and engaging lectures

This course is now a reference for me. While my field is a bit different (French Lit), I will certainly incorporate many aspects of Spurgin's method (clarity, narrative structure, articulation of history, biography, literary context and close reading) to my teaching approach.

Excellent!

Excellent tour of the English Novel! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can’t recommend it enough to others.

Amazing!

I had so much fun listening to this and even got my family into it. Professor Spurgin was fantastic. I wish I had done more literature classes in college and this definitely satisfied my desire for learn more about English literature. I can't recommend this enough.

Enriching and stimulating

This set of lectures captivated me from start to finish. In many chapters I listened more than once. Mr. Spurgim’s voice and the language he uses are often like poetry — to me. Very impressive.

As always withe the great courses,…

Who thought trumpet fanfares before each lecture were a good idea?? But all that aside, an excellent lecture series well performed and well presented in this 30 minute per author format.

Very Informative

I enjoy these courses, and this one was no exception. I have read many English novels, but this course pretty much put it all together and gave me perspective I didn't have. It was interesting to see the development of the novel over time. It also made me enthused to read some of the novels discussed in the courses that I have not yet read. I thought the lectures were well structured and well delivered.

Another great course by prof. Spurgin!

Thoroughly enjoyed this series of lectures by professor Timothy Spurgin on the roots and evolution of the english novel. I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know about and once again, as it's always the case with literature lectures, my to-be-read pile grew.