This course examines British novels in the classic “mystery” genre. In preparation for class, students will enjoy some fascinating, often hard-to-put down tales of human intrigue and murder, going back to the eighteenth-century gothic tale, with the aim of discovering how and to what effect these novels are put together. The British mystery novel can be distinguished from classic American detective fiction in its characteristic emphasis on complex character development and social and political themes. The mystery at the heart of the British novel, then, often serves elaborate plot device to explore psychology in the context of outside issues, such as history, gender, literature, and culture; our job will be to examine how it does that.
This is a Writing Intensive class. As such, it will also focus on how to develop confidence, ease, and skill in writing analytically and in articulating reasoned interpretive arguments about the material that is read.
Required Texts (Available in UH Bookstore)
Ann Radcliffe. The Italian (1797)
Arthur Conan Doyle. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902-2)
Agatha Christie. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926)
Josephine Tey. The Daughter of Time (1951)
Graham Greene. Our Man in Havana (1958)
Anne Perry. The Cater Street Hangman (1985)
Ruth Rendell. A Demon in My View (2000)
Kuzuo Ishiguru. Never Let Me Go (2010)
Course Requirements
Three 5-page papers Final Exam