Anthony Powell’s A Dance To The Music of Time is one of the longest and most absorbing novels in the English language—with twelve books, hundreds of characters, and an astonishing broad coverage of British and world culture from 1914 to 1971.

We will read the first six books of the series, taking the story from Eton in the 1920s up to the beginning of World War II, and meeting such unforgettable personages as enigmatic, aristocratic Stringham, the hearty businessman Templer, the promiscuous bohemian Gypsy Jones, and the saga’s two major characters—our astute, sophisticated narrator, Nicholas Jenkins, and his nemesis, the obtuse, ambitious Kenneth Widmerpool. We will immerse ourselves in the social history of England in the 20th century; life, love and loss in these changing times; the tragedy of two world wars; and a philosophical perspective that embraces both the merriment and melancholy of the human condition.

Reference books by Hilary Spurling and Mr. Birns will help make sense of Powell’s tragicomic epic, increasingly valued as one of the great masterpieces of world literature.

Holding a PhD in Literature from NYU, Nicholas Birns teaches at the New School, focusing on the history of the British novel. His books include Willa Cather (Salem Press, 2011) and Understanding Anthony Powell (University of South Carolina Press, 2004), as well as a forthcoming volume on Australian literature.

Four Sessions:
Thursdays March 19
April 16
May 14
June 4

A reading list and copies of the books for discussion are available for registrants.