The English Experience by Julie Schumacher

THE ENGLISH EXPERIENCE by Julie Schumacher is a delightfully clever novel, the end to a trilogy which includes Dear Committee Members and The Shakespeare Requirement. Not having read the first two, I found this title worked as a stand-alone, but I would recommend reading all three and truly enjoying Schumacher’s satirical take on higher education. Professor Jay Fitger, head of the English Department at Payne University, is a key character who is drafted at the last minute to accompany eleven students on a few weeks trip to London. He is not the best at travelling and mishaps abound (subtly conveyed by the inverted umbrella on the cover). As the group visits museums and historical sights, he assigns 500-word essays and hilarious student responses are interspersed throughout the novel. Here is a favorite: “One another reason I don't like it here is they can't make a 1/2 decent sandwidge someone should teach them about the BLT (I would do it myself but that is not my roll).” Readers will also smile at the growth they see in the students, including, cat-loving Felicity, art major twins, past boyfriend and girlfriend Brent and Sonia, pre-law student Lin, claustrophobic Joe, alcohol over-imbibing Wyatt, loner Elwyn, the mysterious D. B., and Xanna who often misses events due to illness. That “wonderfully weird mix of exiles” and “often laugh-out-loud hilarious” writing are celebrated in the starred review for THE ENGLISH EXPERIENCE from Kirkus. Have fun reading!