Spotlight on English: du Maurier's "Rebecca"



Course Length: Six weeks

2023 Schedule: Tuesdays with Dr. Patrick at noon CST/6 p.m. UK.


About Summer Courses at Dreaming Spires


Our summer classes are great for homeschoolers who are preparing for high school in the US or exams in the UK, a chance to sample a subject before doing a deep dive for the coming year.

All courses will meet an hour weekly for six weeks. There will be the usual reliance on living books and some homework to ensure good participation, and at the end a certificate will be awarded.

About Spotlight on English: Rebecca

We’ll be using du Maurier's haunting tale of a newly-married woman whose husband, servants, friends, and the very fabric of their beautiful home, are all reeling from the memory of Wife #1, the indomitable Rebecca who died in a boating accident.  Students will discover ways into a classic book that can be used with any text, building up knowledge and understanding with a variety of tools, and moving into experiments with literary analysis. For those in the UK who are planning to take the English literature exam in a year or two, this book is now on the list of set texts for the Cambridge IGCSE.


Who Teaches Spotlight on English: Rebecca?

Dr. Kat Patrick now resides in her home state of Texas with her four children, all of whom are Dreaming Spires students. Before that, she lived for 25 years in England. Her background includes an MA from Durham (UK), a PhD from Delaware (US), and a UK PGCE teaching certificate, all in the subject of English. She continues to examine for both the Cambridge Assessment International Education and Oxford, Cambridge, RSA examinations boards for both IGCSE and A-level. Her revision guide for the English Language exam is available to purchase via Amazon.