Literature Course 2021/2022

20th Century English Romantic Fiction

The course theme in 2021/2022 was 20th Century English Romantic Fiction. Each of the novels and short stories that made up this course were stories of the human condition and of the very human responses to it: profound, moving, tolerant, and seldom without humour. The voices heardwere those of the humanist - one who, to quote the Edwardian writer, E.M. Forster, 'is seriously committed to human values while refusing to take himself too seriously'.

Course-members were asked to read the following titles, which are usually obtainable as a set in our online shop or at our reception. They were discussed in the order given below.

• The Painted Veil by William Somerset Maugham | 19 Oct to 12 Nov 2021
• Frenchman´s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier | 23 Nov to 17 Dec 2021
• Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym | 10 Jan to 4 Feb 2022
• Strangers by Anita Brookner | 14 Feb to 11 March 2022
• The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis | 21 March to 22 Apr 2022
• Pack of Cards by PEnelope Lively | 2 May to 27 May 2022
• The Sea Lady by Margaret Drabble | 13 June to 8 July 2022