2Wed-2C-10: Mystery Fiction Goes to Court: Legal Dramas in Books and Film, Part 1
Class | Registration opens 1/27/25 10:00 AM
If any profession is dominating the news nowadays, it’s the law. Is it because we’re a litigious society at heart? Or that our view of the US as a “nation of laws” is being challenged? Or just the sheer drama of the courtroom? Come join us to explore these and related topics. One fact is not in dispute: legal issues make for some very compelling storytelling.
Over the 10 weeks, we will read and discuss a book one week, a film (to be viewed at home) the next. We WON’T be comparing the print and film versions of the same works. Books will be readily available through the Minuteman Library system or as inexpensive used books on Amazon. Films will all be available as rental CDs, free on Kanopy, or at small rental fees from major streaming services or YouTube. The list of films will be sent to those who register in the class.
Because there are so many great books and films under the broad heading of “legal thriller,” we are considering developing a second course with the same format to be offered some time in the future. So consider this Part 1. Part 2 would present different books and films. This will be a discussion course, with alternative weeks devoted to books and movies. We WON’T be comparing the print and film versions of the same works. We WILL be looking at related topics in the book-movie pairings.
Weekly prep time for each book will be at least 2-3 hours depending on the length of book and your reading speed; the films will typically be about 2 hours.
Books and Other Resources:
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Trurow, Scott. Presumed Innocent.
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Grisham, John. Runaway Jury.
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Scottoline, Lisa. Mistaken Identity.
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Dow, David. Confessions of an Innocent Man.
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Landry, William. Defending Jacob.
Sandy Grasfield
Sandy Grasfield: I was a middle school librarian and media specialist for thirty years. I have taught several courses at LLAIC and elsewhere, including The History and Politics of Food, The Plays and Memoirs of Lillian Hellman, and Great Photographs and Photographers of the Depression Era.
Dana and I have presented four successful courses focused on mystery novels and a lecture class on the Gilded Age in American history. We also ran a monthly summer book group, “Food and Memories,” focused on culinary memoirs.
Dana Kaplan
Dana Kaplan: I had a varied career as a marketing and sales promotional writer and manager of creative teams. My focus was business-to-business. I have been an avid reader of crime/mystery fiction my whole life, beginning (of course) with Nancy Drew. I enjoy approaching these books the same way I do all fiction worth reading: for plot, narrative progression, description, character treatment, and above all, the author’s underlying themes.
In addition to the mystery classes presented with Sandy, I collaborated with Lois Novotny on a course reading and discussing culinary memoirs.