This section of ENG 4860 will consider criminal biography as an important component of the early English novel. We will read accounts of notorious highwaymen, pickpockets, con artists, thief takers, and criminal bosses, learn about the infamous Newgate Prison, and explore how images of pirates and thieves continue to fascinate us in cinematic renditions of this era. Likely readings include Daniel Defoe’s Roxana, Jonathan Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, William Hogarth’s Industry and Idleness, Jane Austen’s Lady Susan, as well as crime stories from newspapers and The Newgate Calendar.
For questions, please contact Dr. Jennifer Wilson, wilsonjp@appstate.edu.
MWF 12-12:50
ENG 4860: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature - J.Wilson (Spring 2023) flyer
