409Z Spring 2026 Sensation and Gothic Novels, Then and Now

409Z  Sensation and Gothic Novels, Then and Now
Eight sessions
Instructor: Ellen Moody
Thursdays, 2:15—3:40, Mar. 26—May 14
Class limit: 50
We’ll read Wilkie Collins' Woman in White, R.L. Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Valerie Martin's Mary Reilly, a sequel to Jekyll and Hyde, from the housemaid's point of view. We’ll define the literary terms, "sensational" and "gothic," and see why they are helpful. We'll also talk about the meaning of the words terror and horror. How do they overlap? These subgenres evolve from the 18th and 19th century’s fascination with death, invisible history, sexual violence, and the supernatural. Books and films are often surreal, and feel paranoid, yet mirror realistically our contemporary world. The instructor recommends seeing two movies that stream online and exist as DVDs: the 2018 serial, Woman in White and the 1996 feature film, Mary Reilly.
Ellen Moody has been teaching since 1972, in senior colleges until 2012, and for 11 years now at two OLLIs. Her PhD is in British Literature. She's a published scholar with specialties in 18th through 20th century literature, women’s literature, film adaptations, and the gothic.