Explore UCD

UCD Home >

ENG32220

Academic Year 2026/2027

Popular Fiction in Britain (ENG32220)

Subject:
English
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Nicholas Daly
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

What makes a novel popular, and why do some popular novels fade into obscurity after a brief moment of fame? This course will look at bestselling fiction in Britain from the beginning of the twentieth century to the early years of the Cold War. Students who complete this module successfully will have a knowledge of some of the genres of popular fiction in this period; of the debates about popular literature; of the politics of the popular novel; and of the changes in the publishing industry that underpinned the rise of the modern bestseller.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Students who complete this module successfully will have a knowledge of some of the genres of popular fiction in this period; of the debates about popular literature; of the politics of the popular novel; and of the changes in the publishing industry that underpinned the rise of the modern bestseller.

Indicative Module Content:

Reading List:
John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915). The thriller/spy story. [bookshop, Library short loan, project Gutenberg, Kindle]
E.M. Hull, The Sheik (1919). [excerpts. Library. Full text on archive.org] Exotic romance on page and screen.
M.R. James and others. Short supernatural fiction. [available online]
Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1916). Detective fiction. [Bookshop, UCD Library, Kindle, Gutenberg.]
Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm (1932). [Excerpts ] Comic fiction
P.G. Wodehouse, short stories. Comic fiction.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (1937) Fantasy [available free online]
John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids (1951) Science Fiction [Bookshop, Library, Kindle]
Ian Fleming, Casino Royale (1952). Thriller. [Bookshop, Library, Kindle]

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

76
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Seminar (or Webinar)

24
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

Seminar based on in-class discussion, group work, short assignments.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Short close reading assignment
No AI to be used		 Week 7 Graded No
30
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Final essay
No AI to be used		 Week 14 Graded No
70
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915)
E.M. Hull, The Sheik (1919).
M.R. James, Elizabeth Bowen, Marghanita Laski: Short supernatural fiction
Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (1930).
Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca (1938)
P.G. Wodehouse, selected short stories.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (1937)
John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids (1951)
Ian Fleming, Casino Royale (1952).

Name Role
Professor Fionnuala Dillane Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 09:00 - 10:50
Print this page
Fill in the following details:
Enter the body of your query here.

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.