In thirty-five productive years Dickens published fourteen novels, a number of shorter works such as A Christmas Carol, two travel books, and considerable journalism. The most popular novelist of his day (1835-1870), he remains second only to Shakespeare among English writers read now around the world, constantly attracting biographical and critical commentary.
Required readings will be A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Bleak House, and Great Expectations. Students, individually or in small groups, will develop a research topic ( involving content, theme, or style with the assigned texts as focal points). In addition to material in the four required texts, I will provide bibliographical citations to Dickens criticism and biography, as well as assistance with individual topics. Research can also involve hands-on work with rare Dickens materials in UW special collections. The final 15-20 page paper will be due the last day of class, and for a midterm students will submit prospectus for the longer paper.