The period of history known as Georgian England runs from 1714-1837, a period that encompasses a period of extraordinary change. Great Britain became by 1800 the most powerful nation in the world and during this period it gained and lost an empire; its cities, especially London, grew explosively, the industrial revolution begins, the novel as a literary genre is born, women and the working classes begin to assert their rights, and much else besides. Literature and the arts—in poetry, in fiction, in painting, in music, and drama and architecture—are at a pinnacle.
Using thematic modules such as Politics, Crime and Punishment, Love and Marriage, and Romanticism, we will explore the period’s fascinating history and literary greatness. Readings will include such writers such as Swift, Austen, Wordsworth, Johnson, Wollstonecraft, and Keats, as well some primary source material. We will also examine the rich visual legacy of the time.