Literature Courses in London
Explore our exciting range of Literature courses, from Literary History, to specialist courses in Fiction, Poetry and Drama. We offer introductory and in-depth courses to suit all levels of interest and experience, where you can revisit classic texts and discover new writers.
Study in-person or online from the comfort of home, with classes that allow you to participate in discussions with fellow adult students and share your passion for literature as part of a learning community. We offer daytime, evening and weekend courses, both short and long.
Our tutors are experts in their fields and experienced educators; many also teach in universities or share their expertise in the media. Tutors share their knowledge and passion for fiction, poetry and drama through presentations, readings, interactive discussion, analysis, and other activities.
Many students return to take more courses, telling us they enjoy being part of our City Lit literary community; others are inspired to progress onto university study.
Our popular courses often sell out quickly, so we invite you to browse and book your place now.
- George Eliot: Middlemarch
Course start date: Thu 6 Jun 2024Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis short literature course will explore George Eliot’s novel, ‘Middlemarch’ (1871-2). Considered by many to be the greatest nineteenth century novel, we explore its narrative methods and characterisation, its rich engagement with the ideas and concerns of its age, and above all, its deep humanity that still resonates today.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Beckett and The Divine Comedy: a lifelong influenceCourse start date: Thu 13 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephen WinfieldExplore the intimate relationship between Beckett’s universe of unbelief, presided over by a Godot who never comes, and Dante’s poem, the most exalted, vastly influential literary expression of medieval Christianity, whose presence can be felt everywhere in the Irishman’s long oeuvre, in every genre – in his plays, novels, stories, poems, essays - and at every stage of his career. What brought them together, and what were the results?Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Queer Storytelling: writing as a radical actCourse start date: Sun 16 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Megan BeechThis one day short course will explore the writing of two contemporary queer writers, both of whom use innovative form to tell unique stories of lesbian and trans experience. We'll look at the exhilarating, T.S Eliot Prize winning, C+nto and Othered Poems (2021) by Joelle Taylor and Variations (2022).Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - The City in Literature: freedom and flappers in the bohemian cityCourse start date: Tue 25 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Join us to explore three works of life writing set in Paris and Berlin between the wars, where café culture, the adventure of the streets, bohemian life, and nocturnal temptations offer opportunities for artistic, personal, and sexual freedom. Set in post-WW1 Paris and pre-WW2 Berlin, writers, artists, and adventurers find themselves entangled within the moving fabric of unpredictable social and political changes. Writers include Ernest Hemingway, Jean Rhys and Christopher Isherwood.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Gaslighters, Grifters and Gangsters: Psycho-thrillers of the 40s and 50sCourse start date: Thu 27 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: William BradyJoin us to explore the rise of a dark, psychologically complex strain of Crime Fiction in the 1940s and 50s. Often termed the ‘psycho-thriller’, these novels put the criminal mind centre-stage, delving into murkier recesses of the human psyche than had previously been entertained. Focusing on two key examples of the genre, Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square and Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, we will analyse and contextualise the psycho-thriller as it evolved in Britain and America.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - A journey through Boccaccio's DecameronCourse start date: Sat 6 Jul 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Francesco BucciolThe Decameron is one of the early literary works in the Italian language and it had a significant influence on many other writers. Come and discover the genesis of the novel and some of the stories that still resonate with readers today.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - The rise and fall of Oscar WildeCourse start date: Mon 22 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Julian BirkettOscar Wilde was the most controversial writer of late Victorian Britain. He was famed for his wit, extravagant lifestyle, and sexual adventures. His plays and his sensational novel The Picture of Dorian Gray were celebrated and admired. But his scandalous trial and conviction “for gross indecency with men” ruined him, and he ended his life in Paris, destitute and alone. His dramatic trial marked a turning point in British attitudes to sex and culture.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - The History of the Irish short story: from early Joyce to Claire KeeganCourse start date: Tue 23 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard NilandThe short story has come to be seen as one of Irish Literature’s most celebrated forms of expression. From the early stories of George Moore and James Joyce, to modern classics by John McGahern, William Trevor and Claire Keegan, the short story has allowed Irish writers to pick apart the complexities of Irish society in powerful, precise and poetic terms. This course will explore some of the most iconic short stories of twentieth-century Irish literature.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
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