How do we read a novel?—this is the question which lies behind a new collection of essays on the Victorian novel written by members of the English Board of Studies at the University of Kent. It is a question which leads into a consideration of what happens to our critical judgements in the process of reading, as we turn the pages over and begin to build the detail into form. The Victorian novel provides a particularly rich source for this kind of interest. We are made to think about what it is like to read a long novel, a novel which is illustrated, a novel published in a serial form.

A Reader's Guide to the Nineteenth-Century English Novel examines the values of Victorian society—values that arose from widely held assumptions about the relative importance of birth and money, the power of the aristocracy, the place of the Church of England. Only with an understanding of the basic assumptions that shaped the world of Austen and Thackeray are readers able to appreciate the significance of a governess rising to be mistress of a large estate while a lady drops into barely genteel poverty in Emma, or of Becky Sharpe's statement that she "could be a good woman" on five thousand a year—a fortune—in Vanity Fair.

The ten novels in this series introduce readers to the adventurous and spirited Barclay family. Follow the family on easy-to-read journeys that feature interesting facts about history, geography, and science. In addition to character development throughout the series each novel contains an element of mystery and suspense. Plus, the stories can be read sequentially or independently. Each novel is 64-pages and includes comprehension questions at the end of each book.

Teacher's Resource Guide NEEDED