New Fourth Edition!
Introduction to Literature (English 1) is a one year, college-preparatory literature and composition course, and is the first volume of the Excellence in Literature curriculum.
Visit the print edition page for a full description.
Downloadable eBook: 176 pages
The Introduction to Literature ebook contains the same text as the print version of the book. Intro to Lit is also known as English 1, and is the first volume of the Excellence in Literature curriculum. You can read a full description of the book and its contents at the print edition page, but here is a reading list of the books that will be studied at this level (honors texts are optional).
Reading List for Introduction to Literature ebook
Module 1: Short Stories
- Sarah Orne Jewett: A White Heron
- Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter (This Poe story is not scary, if you're concerned about that.)
- Guy de Maupassant: The Diamond Necklace
- O. Henry: The Ransom of Red Chief
- Eudora Welty: A Worn Path
- James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Module 2: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Honors: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Module 3: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Honors: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Module 4: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Honors: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Module 5: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Honors: Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
Module 6: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Honors: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Module 7: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Honors: 1984 by George Orwell
Module 8: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Honors: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Module 9: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Honors: The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan OR
The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton
Following the nine modules that outline readings and a week-by-week lesson plan for each of the classic works being studied, you will find reference resources, including instructions for evaluation, reproducible rubric and assignment sheets, and more.
You can see an annotated listing of each of the introductory and reference chapters at the "What is included in Excellence in Literature" post.
Visit my blog to read about how I chose the literature for Excellence in Literature. This link will open in a new tab, so you don't have to worry about losing your place here.