English Literature  Tags: english literature engl literary culture criticism american_literature new zealand_literature  

Oxford Reference Online
Offers simultaneous searching of a number of Oxford reference books covering literature, history art, religion, philosophy, sociology and politics.

Victorian culture and society : the essential glossary / Adam C. Roberts, 2003.
Reference DA 550 .R643 2003

Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era /ed. James Eli Adams.
Reference DA 550 .E561 2004

The encyclopedia of the Victorian world / eds Melinda Corey and George Ochoa, 1996.
Reference DA 550 .E56

The 1890s : an encyclopedia of British literature, art, and culture / ed. G.A. Cevasco, 1993.
Reference DA 560 .E34

The Longman companion to Victorian fiction / John Sutherland, 1988.
Reference PR 871 .S966
Biographical entries include those for minor authors, illustrators, editors, reviewers, and publishers. Plot synopses for 600 novels, and entries on various genres.

The Stanford companion to Victorian fiction / John Sutherland. 1989.
PR 871 .S966 (borrowable)

British historical facts : 1830-1900 / Chris Cook and Brendan Keith, 1975.
Reference DA 560 .C771

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography from earliest times to the year 2000 / eds H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison , 2004.
Reference CT 773 .D554 2004

Reference Sources for individual authors

Thomas Hardy - dictionaries and encyclopedias

Charles Dickens A to Z : the essential reference to his life and work / Paul Davis, 1998.
PR 4580 .D263

All indexes to the works of Charles Dickens

Cambridge bibliography of English libterature , vol. 4 1800-1900
Ref
Lists every known work and edition for authors including very minor ones. Also lists writers by category eg Unitarians, writers of household books. recommended for higher level research

Print and online:

• Journals in the Library

Online titles:

• Nineteenth-Century Literature
• Victorian Poetry
• Victorian Studies

The Library has a large selection of printed and electronic works available for the study of 19th century literature. This page offers a variety of ways to search and browse. Please ask the English Literature Information Librarian if you would like assistance.

The following are links into the Library Catalogue using Subject Keywords, unless otherwise indicated.

Most of these can also be typed into the Catalogue as Subject Alphabetical searches, which may give a more accurate result.

• England--Civilization--19th century.
• Great Britain--intellectual--life 19th century
• Literature and society--Great Britain--History--19th century
• Women--Great Britian--History--19th century
• Women and literature--England--History--19th century
• [Victorian poetry]--history and criticism
• English poetry--19th century--History and criticism
• Anthologies of 19th Century poetry [title keyword search]
• English fiction--19th century--history and criticism
• 19th century domestic fiction
• Victorian fiction -novels of faith and doubt [Series search]
• Gothic revival (literature) + 19th century
• Serial publication of books--history--19th century
• English prose literature--19th century--history and criticism
• Popular culture--Great Britain--History-19th century
• Aesthetics, British--19th century
• Social classes in literature + 19th century
• Utilitarianism
• Nature in literature - 19th century

Books about an author's work

Use the author's name as a Subject Keyword search, eg

• Christina Rossetti
• Charles Dickens
• Matthew Arnold

Literature Online
Includes both MLA and ABELL. Indexes journals and books in the field of literature. A number of journals are available full-text -check the Library Catalogue for others.

Victorian Database Online
Indexes journals and books. Check journal/book title in Library Catalogue.

Historical Abstracts
Indexes journals. Links to journals in the Library Catalogue.

Project Muse
Full-text scholarly journals across a range of subjects, inlcuding literature. 1993 onwards.

JSTOR
Indexes a selection of academic journals in literature and the humanities. All full-text.

These books give biographical information on the author, list all his/her works, provide excepts of criticism and suggest books for further study.

British poets, 1880-1914 / ed. Donald E. Stanford. Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1983
Reference PR 581 .B862

Victorian prose writers before 1867/ ed. William B. Thesing. Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research, 1987.
Reference PR 781 .V645

Victorian prose writers after 1867 / ed. William B. Thesing. Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research, 1987.
Reference PR 781 .V6451

Romantic literature : a guide to romantic literature, 1780-1830 / edited by Geoff Ward.
Reference PR 468 .R65 .R759

Literature Resource Center
Biographical information, bibliography and selected journal articles.

Bibliographies

Bibliographies list the all the known books, chapters in books and journal articles about a writer and his /her works. There are also bibliographies which cover particular topics or themes. Search tip: Subject Keyword: [name of author] bibliography

• Thomas Hardy bibliography
• Lewis Carroll bibliography

Multi-author bibliographies

Cambridge bibliography of English literature, vol. 4, 1800-1900
Ref PR 83 .C178 1999
Lists all known works and editions by 19thC authors, including items in anthologies. Genre categories include political, scientific and religious writing, household books, travel, sport, magazines, and book production.

Guide to British prose fiction explication : nineteenth and twentieth century / Lynn Beene. New York : G.K. Hall ; London : Prentice Hall International, 1997.
Reference, level 2 PR 861 .B414

Guide to British poetry explication / Nancy Martinez
PR 502 .M385 (volume 4 for Victorian)
Useful for finding criticism on a particular poem. Arranged by name of poet

19th Century Periodicals in the Library
Interactive list of all 19th century periodicals - literary and general interest.

The Wellesley index to Victorian periodicals, 1824-1900 / ed. Walter E. Houghton, 1966-1989.
Reference AI 3 .W451

The Curran Index
Additions to and corrections of The Wellesley index to Victorian periodicals.

Poole's index to periodical literature / William Poole, 1938.
Reference AI 3 .P822

Indexes to fiction in 19th Century periodicals
(Indexes for individual periodicals)

Quartely Review Archive

English Socialist periodicals, 1880-1900 : a reference source
HX 243 .M992 2005

New York Times
1851-2001 full-text online

Research Guides published in series

Victorian literature and culture

Victorian fiction research guides

Materials on microfilm

Manuscripts, diaries, early editions, advice manuals...

Gift books and literary annuals, 1823-1857

Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue (NSTC)

Index of British books printed 1801-1919. Covers all books published in Britain, its colonies and the USA, all books in English wherever published, and all translations from English.
Ask at the Lending Desk for CD-ROM 02/27 (Info)

The Victorian Age : an anthology of sources and documents
DA 550 .G986

Human documents of the Victorian Golden Age / E. Royston Pike
HN 386 .H918

More sources

Palmer's Index to the Times 1790-1905
CD-ROM 02/30 (Info). Ask at the Lending Desk.

British Poetry 1780-1910
Hypertext archive of scholarly editions.

Literary Resources: Victorian British
Annotated collection of links. Part of the Literature Resources Collection, by Jack Lynch at Rutgers University.

Victorian Web
Literature, history, religion and culture. Encyclopedic articles on events, movements, and themes; includes bibliographies.

Victoria Research Web
Information and links to help with the research process, particularly in British libraries, and especially concerning historical data.

Victorian Women Writers Project
Includes anthologies, novels, political pamphlets, religious tracts, children's books, and volumes of poetry and verse drama. Searchable.

British Library: Collect Britain
Browse issues of the Penny Illustrated Paper, view late Victorian photographs, look at examples of fashion and advertising... The curators of various collections at the BL present their choices of interesting samples from a variety of different media.

John Clare Page
Edited by Simon Kövesi, Oxford Brookes University. Includes online editions of Clare's poetry, index to the Clare Society Journal, bibliographies and selected critical essays (full-text).