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THE GREAT CLASSICS

Exploring a superb classic novel every month!

A series of monthly 3-week courses exploring great literary novels!

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Read the book beforehand, and then come to the group and we'll discuss it - simple!

SPRING 2023 - SCHEDULE

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

3 sessions from Sunday 16th April 2023, 4-6 pm (UK)

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Mary Shelley (1797-1851) was an English novelist most widely known for her novel, Frankenstein, which she began writing when she was just eighteen. Mary's father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and women's rights advocate, Mary Wollstonecraft.

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Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus was first published in 1818, and tells the story of Victor Frankenstein who, in the name of scientific progress, creates a creature capable of conscious thought and self reflection. The novel addresses questions of identity, social values and judgement, and the consequences of actions. 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

3 sessions from Sunday 14th May 2023, 4-6 pm (UK)

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Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a hugely popular English writer whose novels include, The Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, and the much loved, Oliver Twist.

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Great Expectations was published in 1861. It follows the story of Philip Pirrip, known as "Pip" and his rise from blacksmith's apprentice to gentleman, with help from a mysterious benefactor.

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The novel depicts two of Dickens' most memorable characters - the pitiful and deathly Miss Havisham and the terrifying Magwitch. 

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

3 sessions from Sunday 11th June 2023, 4-6 pm (UK)

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Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was a Polish-British novelist and short story writer whose ideas and experiments with literary impressionism mark him as an important figure in the development of literary modernism.​

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Heart of Darkness was published in 1899.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

3 sessions from Sunday 9th July 2023, 4-6 pm (UK)

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Emily Bronte (1818-1848) was an English novelist and poet, most widely known for her only published novel, Wuthering Heights. She was sister to novelists Anne and Charlotte Bronte.

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Wuthering Heights was published in 1847, under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. It is a dark, atmospheric novel, bringing us the unforgettable and timeless love of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. 

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

3 Session from Sunday 13th Augusrt 2023, 4-6 pm (UK)

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Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Hawthorne published a collection of short stories, Twice-Told Tales in 1837, and worked as a weighter and guager in the Boston Custom House from 1839.

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Considered to be one of the great American novels, The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850. Set in the Puritanical fervour of New England in the 1640s, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, whose adulterous affair and subsequent pregnancy leads to a reassessment of individual and social values.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

3 Session from Sunday 10th September 2023, 4-6 pm (UK)

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Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist and short story writer born in 1821. He made a lasting impression on European literature with his stylistic innovations in literary realism.

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Madame Bovary, Flaubert's first novel, was first published in 1857. 

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