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Great Books - January

Great Expectations

by Ken Charles Dickens
January 16, 2013

Philip Pirrip, aka Pip, entered the hearts and minds of readers in 1861. He’s still firmly ensconced as one of Charles Dickens’ most beloved characters. In the 21st century we are still appalled at the treatment of this child by his sister Mrs. Joe, while warmed by the love of blacksmith Mr. Joe Gargery. We also meet one of the great characters in all literature, Miss Havisham. This novel is layers deep in character portrayal, the meaning of success, poverty, money and the pull between a person’s past and their chance to create a life of their own. If only for the delight in colorful names we would have reason to read this classic: Pumblechook, Estella, Biddy, Wemmick, Jaggers, the Pockets, Orlick and, of course, Magwitch. Let’s celebrate the end of the Dickens Bicentenary by reading Great Expectations.

 The Pillars of the Earth - book cover

Presenter

Judith Steininger is a professor emeritus at MSOE. She has also taught at UW-Milwaukee, Boston College and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, East Africa. She is a free lance writer both locally and nationally. In 2010, she published two essays-one on Willa Cather’s Pulitzer Prize novel One of Ours and another on Jim Harrison’s novella collection The Farmer’s Daughter. She regularly contributes to Milwaukee Public Radio’s “Lake Effect” program. Her bachelor’s degree is in chemistry from the University of Kentucky and master’s in literature from Boston College. Steininger taught the first Great Books discussion, Arrowsmith. The Milwaukee Press Club awarded her cover story “Hot Stuff” the Best Feature Length Magazine Article for 2006 in a statewide competition.

Menu
Appetizer - Lambs Liver Pate served with assorted crackers
Soup/salad - Creamed Broccoli Soup
Entrée - Pan-fried Chicken with Stilton served with Minted Peas And Parsley Dumplings
Dessert - Traditional Bread and Butter Pudding


Registration
You may register and pay online for any Great Book session. Look for the red "register online" button on each book's web page. Alternately, you can download this Great Books registration form (Adobe Acrobat Reader software required) to fill out and mail in with your payment. Reserve your space for one or all of the monthly discussions!

All Great Books programs are scheduled on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. in MSOE's historic Alumni Partnership Center.

To receive a Great Books brochure or for more information about the Great Books Series, contact Cathy Varebrook at (414) 277-4523.