Required Texts
Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. New York: Puffin Books, 1984. ISBN: 0140350381. (Download a version from Project Gutenberg)
–––. Through the Looking Glass. New York: Puffin Books, 1996. ISBN: 0140367098. (Download a version from Project Gutenberg)
Dickens, Charles. Bleak House. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN: 0192545035. (Download a version from Project Gutenberg)
Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton. New York: Penguin Books, 1970. ISBN: 0140430539. (Download a version from Project Gutenberg)
Mayhew, Henry. London Labour and the London Poor. New York: Penguin, 1986. ISBN: 0140432418. (View and download a version from the University of Virginia’s Electronic Text Center)
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1956. ISBN: 0802053459. (Download a version from Bartleby.com)
Rossi, Alice S. Essays on Sex Equality. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1970. ISBN: 0226525465. (John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill)
Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Selected Poems. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. ISBN: 0140445455. (View and download Tennyson’s poems from everypoet.com)
Readings by Class Session and Reading Notes
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS | ADDITIONAL MATERIALS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction: The Victorian Period | Victorian England (c.1837-1901): Key Dates (PDF) | |
| 2 | Dickens | Bleak House #1. (Chapters 1-4) | |
| 3 | Thomas Carlyle John Ruskin | "Signs of the Times." (See also endnotes to essay.) "The Nature of Gothic," "The Opening of the Crystal Palace …," and "Traffic." | |
| 4 | Thomas Carlyle (cont.) John Ruskin (cont.) Dickens (cont.) | "Signs of the Times." "The Nature of Gothic," "The Opening of the Crystal Palace …," and "Traffic." Bleak House #2. (Chapters 5-7) | |
| 5 | Elizabeth Gaskell | Mary Barton. | |
| 6 | Elizabeth Gaskell (cont.) Dickens (cont.) |
Mary Barton. Bleak House #3. (Chapters 8-10) | |
| 7 | Elizabeth Gaskell (cont.) | Mary Barton. | |
| 8 | Elizabeth Gaskell (cont.) Dickens (cont.) |
Mary Barton. Bleak House #4. (Chapters 11-13) | |
| 9 | John Stuart Mill | On Liberty. | Bentham and Mill Excerpts (PDF) Duty Quote (PDF) Mill Subjection Quotes (PDF) |
| 10 | John Stuart Mill (cont.) Dickens (cont.) |
On Liberty. Bleak House #5. (Chapters 14-16) | |
| 11 | John Stuart Mill (cont.) | On Liberty. | |
| 12 | Henry Mayhew Dickens (cont.) |
London Labour and the London Poor. pp. 5-51, 56-60, 100-106, 113-122, 137-145, 155-156, 161-189, 209-218, 230-249, 257-291,295-305, 320-323, 344-345, 368-397, 418-443, 447-467, and 508-509. (About 250 pages total.) Bleak House #6. (Chapters 17-19) | |
| 13 | Henry Mayhew (cont.) Isabella Beeton |
London Labour and the London Poor. Excerpts from The Book of Household Management. | Beeton Readings (PDF) |
| 14 | Henry Mayhew (cont.) Isabella Beeton (cont.) Dickens (cont.) |
London Labour and the London Poor. The Book of Household Management. Bleak House #7. (Chapters 20-22) | Holmes and Dickens Quotes (PDF) |
| 15 | Alfred, Lord Tennyson | "Ulysses," and "Tithonus." | Tennyson Excerpts (PDF) Tennyson In Memoriam (PDF) |
| 16 | Alfred, Lord Tennyson (cont.) Dickens (cont.) | "Ulysses," "Tithonus," "The Epic," and "Morte D'Arthur." Bleak House #8. (Chapters 23-25) | |
| 17 | Alfred, Lord Tennyson (cont.) | In Memoriam A. H. H. | |
| 18 | Alfred, Lord Tennyson (cont.) Dickens (cont.) |
In Memoriam A. H. H. Bleak House #9. (Chapters 26-29) | Baudelaire (PDF) Durkheim (PDF) |
| 19 | Dickens (cont.) | Bleak House #10. (Chapters 30-32) | |
| 20 | Lewis Carroll | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. | |
| 21 | Lewis Carroll (cont.) | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. | |
| 22 | Arthur Conan Doyle | Sherlock Holmes Stories and Excerpts. | Sherlock Holmes Readings (PDF) |
| 23 | Arthur Conan Doyle (cont.) Rudyard Kipling | Sherlock Holmes Stories and Excerpts. "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes." | |
| 24 | Dickens (cont.) | Bleak House. | |
| 25 | Dickens (cont.) | Bleak House. | Bleak House Reviews (PDF) National Allegory Quotes (PDF) |