Community residents, local students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the Fall 2015 Great Books at Hayfield - an informal discussion series open to all who enjoy reading great literature.
On Monday, September 28th, Robert Salsburg will lead a discussion on Charles Brockden Brown's Wieland. First published in 1798, Brown's most highly-regarded novel is widely considered the first gothic novel produced by an American. The work draws on the traditions of both Gothic and sentimental novels, and includes such narrative elements as murder, suicide, seduction, and insanity. Set sometime between the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War, Wieland details the horrible events that befall Clara Wieland and her brother Theodore's family.
On Monday, October 26th, John Jarecki will lead a discussion on Peter Weis' Marat-Sade. First published in German, Marat-Sade is a bloody and unrelenting depiction of class struggle and human suffering which asks whether true revolution comes from changing society or changing oneself. Set in the historical Charenton Asylum, Marat-Sade is almost entirely a "play within a play".
On Monday, November 23rd, David Smith will lead a discussion on Isak Dinesen's Anecdotes of Destiny. In the classic "Babette's Feast," a mysterious Frenchwoman prepares a sumptuous feast for a gathering of religious ascetics and, in doing so, introduces them to the true essence of grace. In "The Immortal Story," a miserly old tea-trader living in Canton wishes for power and finds redemption as he turns an oft-told sailors' tale into reality for a young man and woman. And in the magnificent novella Ehrengard, Dinesen tells of the powerful yet restrained rapport between a noble Wagnerian beauty and a rakish artist.
All meetings are held in Hayfield House Community Room, H105 and begin at 7pm. Refreshments will be served during each discussion.