On Wednesday, April 8, Instructor Maryanne Ward will begin her five-week-long class "The Calm Before the Storms of War" on Zoom.

In class, students will "visit" two English country houses in two beautifully written, award-winning novels: "The Shooting Party" by Isabel Colegate and "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Each novel presents a snapshot of the inhabitants and visitors to their estates just before the great upheavals of World Wars I and II that will drastically challenge and change society. Participants are invited to bring thoughtful minds to the class while analyzing the lives and attitudes of the carefully crafted characters that inhabit the seemingly idyllic states of these stories.

Maryanne Ward has taught English literature at the college level for many years. Her main fields of interest are the 19th-century novel (English and Russian) and Greek literature, particularly, Homer's "The Odyssey."

Registration for Coastal Senior College Spring Term classes begins on March 3. Classes begin the week of April 7. Go to coastalseniorcollege.org to learn more about Spring Term classes, membership, and registration.