Participation includes your weekly submission of five questions from the reading that are meant to lead to a group discussion. You will submit these questions on Canvas by midnight the night before class. The questions should be typed in Word, using 12-point font. Participation will also include your oral contributions to the weekly discussions. Your essays should be between 290 and 310 words, 12-point font, and double-spaced. Late work will not be accepted.
Attendance is mandatory. Each unexcused absence after the first one will bring your final grade down one letter. An excused absence is when you let me know before class starts, or you have documentation for your absence.
Your final paper will be an eight-page double-spaced work of fiction or your memoir (12-point font)
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
A strange corpse has appeared in a suburban architect’s bathroom, stark naked save for an incongruous pince-nez. When Wimsey arrives on the scene, he is confronted with a once-in-a-lifetime puzzle. The police suspect that the bathtub’s owner is the murderer, but Wimsey’s investigation quickly reveals that the case is much stranger than anyone could have predicted.
Published in 1923, during detective fiction’s Golden Age, Whose Body? introduced a character and a series that would make Dorothy L. Sayers famous. To this day, Lord Peter remains one of the genre’s most beloved and brilliant characters.
The Most Reluctant Convert: C.S. Lewis’s Journey to Faith by David C. Downing
“This is a marvelous book about Lewis’s early life. It deals with all aspects of his life up to the time he converted to Christianity. His family, the war, Oxford friends, his changing beliefs, the maturing of his thinking – all this came together to make him the reluctant convert that he was. This is a very readable and helpful book for those who want to understand Lewis.”
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
“On Writing Well” has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and its warmth of style. It is a book for anybody who wants to learn how to write, whether about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself. Its principles and insights have made it a cherished resource for several generations of writers and students.”
“Not since The Elements of Style has there been a guide to writing as well presented and readable as this one. A love and respect for the language is evident on every page.” Library Journal
Dorothy and Jack by Gina Dalfonzo
“Beautifully written, Dorothy and Jack will transform not only common understanding of both Lewis and Sayers but also common assumptions about male/female friendships.”
“This book is both delightful and important. The style is so engaging that it is easy to overlook how rich it is in content. Not only do we learn a great deal about Lewis and Sayers but we are also treated to a nuanced account of the nature of friendship itself. I enjoyed every page of it, and I heartily recommend it. It is very, very good.”
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the BEST Narnia book! The Voyage of the Dawn Treader serves up a 5 star adventure as our seafaring friends travel amazing new lands. Every new land has its own kind of adventure. And beneath the adventure aspect we see a novel of great depth which allows for some outstanding character development.” Â Just a wonderful blend of engrossing plot and character growth. 5 out 5 stars easily.
“Having fallen in love with the Narnia Chronicles, this book represents one of the best highlights of the series. The book is full of wonder and excitement, a real journey through the seas of Narnia. C.S. Lewis has managed to make the story feel familiar and comforting but at the same time different and awe inspiring. The way the story is told is unique and grabs your attention throughout, making sure you are with them every step of the way, a real adventure. You have a true sense of wonderment and joy while reading this book. A real page turner and the make believe world comes to life.”
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
“A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to “Our Father Below”. At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C. S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging and humorous account of temptation – and triumph over it – ever written.”
Women of Mystery: The Lives and Works of Notable Women by Martha Hailey Dubose
Course Success
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Dorothy and Jack by Gina Dalfonzo
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Women of Mystery: The Lives and Works of Notable Women by Martha Hailey Dubose