Introduction to the Novel (ENGL1008)
Semester 2 / 2009

Texts

The Eyre Affair!$!Jasper Fforde!$! !$!!$!
The War of the Worlds!$!H. G. Wells!$! !$!!$!
Frankenstein!$!Mary Shelley!$! !$!!$!
Northanger Abbey!$!Jane Austen!$! !$!!$!
y separately published work icon True History of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey , St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2000 Z668312 2000 single work novel historical fiction (taught in 29 units)

'"I lost my own father at 12 yr. of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in Hell if I speak false."

'In TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, the legendary Ned Kelly speaks for himself, scribbling his narrative on errant scraps of paper in semi-literate but magically descriptive prose as he flees from the police. To his pursuers, Kelly is nothing but a monstrous criminal, a thief and a murderer. To his own people, the lowly class of ordinary Australians, the bushranger is a hero, defying the authority of the English to direct their lives. Indentured by his bootlegger mother to a famous horse thief (who was also her lover), Ned saw his first prison cell at 15 and by the age of 26 had become the most wanted man in the wild colony of Victoria, taking over whole towns and defying the law until he was finally captured and hanged. Here is a classic outlaw tale, made alive by the skill of a great novelist.' (From the publisher's website.)

Description

The novel in English has been one of the most influential (and controversial) of modern literary forms. From the seventeenth century to the publicity surrounding the Booker Prize or the Oprah Book Club, readers and commentators have argued about the value and relevance of prose fiction: are novels good' or bad' for you?; how, why and should we get lost' in a book?; what constitutes a novel in the first place?; does the novel have a future in the electronic age? This course is an introduction to the novel that explores these questions with reference to a selection of texts, ranging from the early nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. Novels to be studied will include: Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Jasper Fforde, The Eyre Affair, Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang.

Assessment

1000 word essay (25%), and 2,000 word essay (50%), final two-hour examination (25%).

Other Details

Levels: Undergraduate
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