3331 - Partners of Authors and Why They Matter (George deMan & Jill Parks)
Course Description
Instructor: George deMan & Jill Parks
This course explores the relationships of prominent fiction authors from the 19th and 20th centuries, many of whom had wives or partners who were equally renowned, and in some cases, literary figures themselves. These partnerships varied greatly in their impact on the authors' work—some served as hindrances, while others offered significant support.
We will examine writers such as Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, and her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley; Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald; D.H. Lawrence and Frieda Lawrence; Ernest Hemingway and his various wives; Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sofia; Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Olivia Clemens; among others. Through our discussions, we will analyze both the positive and negative dynamics within these literary partnerships.