English literature the book is designed to acquaint students with the main outlines

What classes of society does he show in his novels?

Which work of the writer is considered to be a prelude to his masterpiece “Vanity Fair?

Comment on the meaning of the subtitle of “Vanity Fair”.

What vices of the society are exposed in “Vanity Fair”?

Who are the main characters of the novel?

Which character embodies the spiri-: of “Vanity Fair”?

What works by George Eliot do you know?

Why did a woman writer, Mary Ann Evans, take a man’s name for her pseudonym?

What works by Stevenson are still most popular?

ENGLISH LITERATURE AT THE END OF THE 19thAND THE BEGINNING
OFTHE 20th CENTURY

General Background

By 1880 England had become the first modern industrial empire. Its large, urban manufacturing centers produced goods that went by rail and then by steamship to consumers all over the world. British investments and energy were expanding and served for the defense of the Empire.

Queen Victoria lived until January 1901. Her son. Edward VII, was nearly sixty years old when he was crowned, and reigned only nine years. These nine years in the history cf England are called the Edwardian period. Despite the brevity of the Edwardian period, it saw the development of a national conscience that expressed itself in important social legislation (including the first old-age pensions). It laid the groundwork for the English welfare state.