Department of English

An introduction to some of the earliest works of prose fiction published in English. Readings will sample the variety and fluidity of prose fiction as it took shape between the mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth centuries, with emphasis on the formative period between 1670 and 1750. Likely authors include Bunyan, Behn, Haywood, Barker, Defoe, Rowe, Richardson, Fielding, Burney, Walpole, and that perennial bestseller, “Anonymous.” Required: careful reading and note-taking, active class participation, a choice between two exams or one exam and a final paper, and regular quizzes.