The Taming of the Shrew may be Shakespeare’s most misunderstood play! Angelina Stanford will lead you through Elizabethan Cosmology, the form of the play, the tradition of the taming of the shrew stock plot, the sources of the play, and much more so that you too can read the play as the original audience understood it. Discover how this play…
(Note: This is a recording of a previously live webinar. To access the recorded video afterwards, log in to your House of Humane Letters account, click "Dashboard," then "Orders," then click the corresponding order. There will be a link that says "View Recording.") Evelyn Waugh was one of the comic masters of 20th century English literature. He was also…
Napoleon Bonaparte, whose ambitions, victories, and final defeat at Waterloo changed Europe permanently in the wake of the French Revolution, has inspired historians and students of history for many generations with admiration and hatred alike. On May 25th, Thomas Banks will describe his obscure origins, his rise to power in the aftermath of the Revolution, his triumphs in the field…
The writings of the great 19th century Russian masters are among the richest in the literature of the world. The personal and political dramas, the skepticisms and struggles, beliefs and fanaticisms that gave life to the Russian world of that era are all richly presented in the works of Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Gogol and their peers. This course will begin…
This is a recording of a previously live webinar. To view the recordings after the LIVE session, log in to your account on www.houseofhumaneletters.com, click on My Account and then Orders to view the recording Jonathan Swift was the last great defender of the Ancients in what was known as The Battle of the Ancients versus the Moderns. He was…
THE BATTLE OVER CHILDREN'S LITERATURE What books should children read, is a question that parents, teachers, and even clergymen have wrestled with for centuries. But this is a question that cannot be answered apart from larger questions about the nature of children and the purpose of stories. How do children learn? How is virtue cultivated? What is the moral imagination…
This purchase is for streaming access to the video of a previously live webinar. To access this video after purchase, (make sure you are logged in on a computer) click Dashboard, then Orders, click the order you want to view and then click the link that says View the Recording. America does not have any story form comparable to the…
This purchase is for streaming access to the video of a previously live webinar. "The French Revolution", an English historian once wrote, "was a like a bomb...which, when it exploded, destroyed its creators." Its explosion was of a magnitude felt not only within the borders of France, but throughout Europe as well. Neither were its effects limited to the arena…
In 1944, when Allied troops were jumping behind enemy lines and disembarking under heavy fire on Normandy’s beaches, a film unit from the British Ministry of Information, on orders from Prime Minister Churchill and led by Sir Lawrence Olivier, was producing a film which was meant to boost the soldiers’ morale. However, unlike many other propaganda films of the same…
Note: This purchase gives you lifetime access to the streaming video of a previously live webinar. The greatest result of the First World War was, unquestionably, the deaths of twenty million human beings. Other tragedies bred by that conflict included the disruptions of politics, religion, and society on every continent over the course of many decades. This was the first…
NOTE: This purchase provides access to the recordings a previously live class. Almost 20 hours of instruction. Fairy tales are universal. We find them in every time and in every culture. For as long as there have been words, people have been telling these stories. Why? Why do we tell these stories? Why do we share these stories with our…
Looking for the perfect gift for a friend or loved one for Christmas? Try a House of Humane Letters online gift certificate! Give the gift of a webinar, summer class, mini-class, or conference for any special occasion. Send it by email to the recipient or email it to yourself and print it out to give as a physical gift! Recipients…
Looking for the perfect gift for a friend or loved one for Christmas? Try a House of Humane Letters online gift certificate! Give the gift of a webinar, summer class, mini-class, or conference for any special occasion. Send it by email to the recipient or email it to yourself and print it out to give as a physical gift! Recipients…
Everything you need for Advent Read-Alouds This Advent Bundle Includes Recordings of these previous classes: An in-depth mini-class on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol taught by Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks. With the approach of Advent, it’s the perfect time to explore Charles Dickens’ classic tale of selfishness and redemption and the Christmas spirit. Drawing on her expertise…
Note: These are the streaming videos for a conference held in April 2021. To View the Videos after purchase, log in, click Orders, then View, then Click Here to View the Videos, and you will be taken to the video player and playlist. On the eve of the outbreak of World War Two, Christian writers, intellectuals, poets, and academics began to gather…
Shakespeare’s three great Roman tragedies remain definitive representations of political power, tyranny, anarchy, unrestrained passion, and the corruptibility of men. Join classicist Thomas Banks this October for his three-session short class on Shakespeare’s Romans; enjoy the supreme excellence of Shakespeare’s dramatic verse; discover the historical basis of the three plays in the writings of Plutarch; and enter into the world…
Note: This is a streaming video of a previously LIVE webinar. See below for instructions on viewing the recording. In 1667, Paradise Lost, the greatest narrative poem in the English language, appeared in print. John Milton, the author, was a blind, gout-afflicted scholar and retired civil servant living in obscurity as he approached his 60th birthday. He had not published…
Note: This is the streaming video for a previously live webinar. People have written stories about animals for nearly as long as we have written stories about ourselves. From the fables of Aesop to the folk tales of Joel Chandler Harris, tales of four-footed tricksters and furry fools have found a permanent place in the literature of several civilizations. Join…
Note: This purchase gives access to the streaming video of this webinar. George Orwell did more to shape the imagination and political obsessions of the last century than almost any other writer of his generation. Both his fiction and nonfiction writings have begotten many imitators, and their language and characters have entered the common vocabulary of the English-speaking world. Join…
This is the recording of a LIVE webinar taught by Angelina Stanford (over 90 minutes). To view the recording, login to your account, click Dashboard, then Orders, then View. Learn what a fairy tale is, how to read one, and how to find the Gospel in every story. Price: $15
THE 2019 LITERARY LIFE CONFERENCE For over three decades, Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins have been passionate advocates for the centrality of stories and books for, not only, education--but for all of life. Join Angelina and Cindy for an Online Conference exploring the literary life. (These are the recordings of the conference sessions) Session 1: Cindy Rollins “Once Upon…
To View the Video after purchase, log in, click Orders, then View, then Click Here to View the Video, and you will be taken to the video player. Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular. -Aristotle- Want to love poetry, but you just don’t know how to? Already love…
Poetry and Classical Myth: The Influence of Greek and Roman Myth on English Poetry Join classicist and poet Thomas Banks for a webinar on the influence of classical mythology on English poetry. The influence of Greek and Roman mythology on English poetry has been immense. The imagery, recurring themes and narratives of the great works of the English language owe…
Join Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks for a 3-day IN-DEPTH look at Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol--- just in time for Christmas! With the approach of Advent, it’s the perfect time to explore Charles Dickens’ classic tale of selfishness and redemption and the Christmas spirit. Drawing on her expertise in Victorian literature, folklore, and mythology, Angelina Stanford will reveal the…
