Aren't Bars and Pubs friendly places where everyone knows your name - then why are people getting killed there? We'll read the following three books to find the answers. - Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh - The Dirty Duck by Martha Grimes - The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (Please don't read ahead - we liked to solve the mysteries together.)

 Today, the typical novel sells fewer than 1000 copies over its lifetime; Uncle Tom's Cabin sold more than 3000 copies on the first day of its publication in 1852. An international sensation, it was translated into more than 20 languages by the end of the decade, and was the first American novel to be translated into Chinese, in 1901. When Lincoln met the 5 foot tall Stowe he remarked, "So this is the little lady who started this great war." Perhaps the most important novel ever written, it's fast paced, psychologically astute, and culturally informed. We will be using the Norton Critical Edition of the book, which I ask students to purchase