What makes a great novel? How is a novel woven together? How can we best appreciate works of fiction?

Answer these questions and more with this course from The University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

On the course you’ll discover four of the main building blocks of modern fiction: plot, characterisation, dialogue, and setting using examples from a range of texts including the four novels shortlisted for the 2020 James Tait Black fiction prize. You’ll also explore the formal strategies authors use, how they came to be, and how they affect us as readers.

What topics will you cover?

• The course examines specific techniques relating to plotting and temporality including flashbacks, unreliable narration and framed narratives.
• The course considers ways of understanding character, such as behaviour and motives.
• It explores issues relating to the presentation of dialogue, including conversational mood and dialect voices.
• The course examines the impact of various different settings on the development of plot and character.
• It invites learners to test their understanding through weekly quizzes and a final peer assessment task.
• The four novels explored for this course are:
  • Girl by Edna O’Brien
  • Sudden Traveller by Sarah Hall
  • Travellers by Helon Habila
  • Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

Anna Girling

I am a PhD student in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. My PhD thesis is on the American writer Edith Wharton, and I am interested in a wide range of modern and contemporary fiction.

 

 

Who developed the course?

The University of Edinburgh

Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top universities and is globally recognised for research, innovation and high-quality teaching.