Events/Courses - Event View

As the storms (World Wars I and II) approach, we will visit two English country houses in two beautifully written, award-winning novels. Each novel presents snap shots of the inhabitants and visitors to the estate just before the great upheavals of wars will drastically challenge and change society. When reviewing Isabel Colegate’s, The Shooting Party (W.H. Smith Literary Award), The Washington Post critic described it as a “A beautifully crafted novel, remarkably visual and evocative.” Critical acclaim for Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (Nobel Prize) included phrases like “a perfect novel” and “a virtuoso performance.” Bring a thoughtful mind and a cup of tea as we analyze the lives and attitudes of the carefully created characters that inhabit these seemingly idyllic estates.

For the first class, read The Shooting Party pages 1–96.

Instructor Maryanne Ward holds a B.A. from Marymount Manhattan College, Masters degrees from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. Her main fields of interest are the 19th-century novel (English and Russian) and Greek literature, particularly, Homer’s Odyssey. In addition to teaching her academic specialties, she shares her love of detective fiction with the Mystery Monday reading group. After retiring, Maryanne trained as a Master Gardener, has worked at Blaine House, and is currently a docent at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.