Literatures in English: Victorian Literature
Journal Articles
- America: History and Life This link opens in a new windowIndex with abstracts and full-text of journal articles, book reviews, media reviews, and dissertations on all aspects of American and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. See Historical Abstracts for world history.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowIndex with abstracts of journal articles, book reviews, media reviews, and dissertations on all aspects of world history from prehistory to the present. See America: History and Life for American and Canadian history. 1450 C.E. to the present.
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowAn index to scholarly articles, books and book chapters, and dissertations published internationally on modern (Medieval to today) languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics (including composition and rhetoric since 2000). Coverage has varied but now includes literature from all over the world--Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Folklore is represented by folk literature, music, art, rituals, and belief systems. Linguistics and language materials range from history and theory of linguistics, comparative linguistics, semantics, stylistics, and syntax to translation. Other topics include literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theater), and history of printing and publishing. Some full-text.
What is a primary source?
A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Characteristically, primary sources are contemporary to the events and people described and show minimal or no mediation between the document/artifact and its creator. As to the format, primary source materials can be written and non-written, the latter including sound, picture, and artifact. Examples include:
- personal correspondence and diaries
- speeches and oral histories
- photographs and posters
- newspaper ads and stories
- audio and video recordings
Primary Sources: Online Collections
- Victorian Trade Card CollectionTrade Cards were typically used to advertise products and services including such items as patent medicines, thread, sewing machines, food and beverages, farm equipment and others. Trade cards reached the height of their popularity during the 1880's and 1890's. Heavily United States oriented.
- 19th Century British Pamphlets OnlineThis site was created by the 19th Century Pamphlets Online project, which during 2007-09 digitised more than 23,000 pamphlets from seven UK research collections.
- 19th Century Index This link opens in a new windowIndexes (no full-text) 19th-century British and American books, periodicals, magazines, newspapers and other official documents.
- National Archives (Great Britain)Browse through the various collections available through the British National Archives.
- Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new windowUndergraduate resource in the Gale Literary Criticism Series. Provides access to criticism (excerpts or full-text) published from an author's own time to the present as well as biographical information and some historical context. The criticism includes scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books, and journals. Includes three collections: Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, and Short Story Criticism. For peer-reviewed criticism see the MLA International Bibliography.
- Romantic Era Redefined This link opens in a new windowThis resource covers writers from Britain, the British Empire, and North America and includes over 170,000 pages of text. It includes poetry, prose, drama, letters, and diaries.
Primary Sources: Newspapers and Magazines
- Times Digital Archive, 1785-2010 This link opens in a new windowFull-text page and article images of the daily edition of the Times, London newspaper. The daily edition of the Times has always been published by a separate publisher from the Sunday edition. Major newspaper not only for Britain, but also for articles on the British colonies and much of Europe. 1822 - 2006
- New York Times Historical This link opens in a new windowFull-text of the complete run of New York Times including with page images, individual articles, ads, and illustrations in downloadable PDF. It includes, and is searchable by, display and classified ads, cartoons, photos, maps, graphics, etc., editorials, obituaries, and commentary, as well as articles. 1851-3 years ago.
- Wellesly Index to PeriodicalsIndex to articles on politics, religion, women's writings, ecnoomics, art science archaeology and philosphy published in the 19th century. Also available online through the database 19C and in print.
- Scottsman ArchiveMajor Scottish newspaper 1817-1915. Index only. Full text by subscription.
- Guardian and Sunday ObserverIndex only. 1791-1990. Full text by subscription
- British Newspaper ArchiveSelect dial up or broadband access. For Manchester Guaridan, News of the World, Daily News, and Weekly Dispatch. Mid 19th - early 20th century.
- Nineteenth Century Serials IndexThe Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (ncse) is a free, online edition of six nineteenth-century periodicals and newspapers.
* Monthly Repository (1806-1837) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833)
* Northern Star (1838-1852)
* Leader (1850-1860)
* English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864)
* Tomahawk (1867-1870)
* Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890) - Google News Archive SearchSearches a number of sources, including historical newspaper archives digitized by Google through their News Archive Partner Program and online archival materials that have been crawled. COVERAGE IS SPOTTY.
- American Periodicals This link opens in a new windowFull-text of American magazines published from 1741 into the 20th century. Database can be browsed by title, editor, or publisher, and searched using a sophisticated search menu.
- Internet Library of Early JournalsIncludes digitized runs of six 18th and 19th century journals (at least 20 years each), including Notes and Queries, The Builder, and Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. The project was completed in 1999, and no additional material will be added.
Websites
- British LibraryOnline collections include:photographs from the 19th century, historical texts, and more.
- The NinesNINES is a scholarly organization devoted to forging links between the material archive of the nineteenth century and the digital research environment of the twenty-first.
- Victoria and Albert MuseumMajor museum with collections on all eras of history/art. Good source of visuals. See especially: Theater and Performance, History Period and Styles
- Victorian Research WebThe various sections of the VRW are intended to supply advice and links to help Victorianists find the practical information they need, whether it's an archive catalogue, a bibliography, a listserv address, a sample syllabus, a cheap place to stay in London, or a journal's submission guidelines.
- Victorian Studies BibliographySince 1933, the Victorian Bibliography has listed noteworthy publications (including articles, books, and reviews) that have a bearing on the Victorian period. Prepared by the staff of Victorian Studies and a committee of the Victorian Division of the Modern Language Association of America, the Bibliography annually indexes over 400 journals, representing scholarship in a range of disciplines.
- Victorian WebConcentrates on British literature, history, and culture during the age of Victoria. Similarly, it includes comparative materials from countries outside the United Kingdom. For example, the sections on the use of iron in architecture, railroad stations, sculpture, and painting as well as Aesthetes, Decadents, and Symbolists have examples from both European and colonial nations.
- Victorian Women Writers ProjectThe Victorian Women Writers Project (VWWP) began in 1995 at Indiana University and is primarily concerned with the exposure of lesser-known British women writers of the 19th century. The collection represents an array of genres - poetry, novels, children's books, political pamphlets, religious tracts, histories, and more. VWWP contains scores of authors, both prolific and rare.
- The VictoriansFrom the National Archives/ public record office.
- Voice of the Shuttle: VictorianaLarge collection of links to other websites with primary and secondary information.
Music
- Smithsonian Global Sound This link opens in a new window4 simultaneous users. Listen online to materials from the Smithsonian Folkways catalog and other archival collections representing musics in various genres including folk, blues, jazz, country, children's and spoken word from all regions of the world.
- Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new windowcontent download is restricted. Listen online to recordings from Naxos and hundreds of other labels featuring classical, jazz, world, and folk musics. Program notes on the tracks as well as biographical information on composers/performers and historical materials are often available.
Background Life and Culture
- Greenwood Daily LifeTexts explore the daily life of cultures and countries and cover history and current topics. Also included are primary documents, images, maps, vetted weblinks, Tours through Time features, Spanning the Globe features, and thousands of folk and fairy tales.
- Dictionary of Victorian LondonSite created and maintained by current Victorian mystery writer. Fairly detailed entries.
- The Victorian literature handbook / edited by Alexandra Warwick and Martin WillisKing Library | PR461 .V54 2008
- A companion to the Victorian novelKing Reference | PR871 .C643 2002. Blackwell Companions to Literature. Good overview, contextualizing novels in history. Broad topics include: Novelists and the Stage, Gender Politics and Women's Rights, Children's fiction..etc.
- A companion to Victorian literature & cultureKing Library | PR461 .C597 1999. Similar to the volume above
- Charles Booth and the survey into life and labour in London (1886-1903)The Booth collection at LSE Archives contains the original records from Booth's survey into life and labour in London, dating from 1886 to 1903. The archives of the Senate House Library contain Booth family papers from 1799 to 1967.
Call Numbers and Catalog Subject Headings
Need to browse the stacks?
Here are some relevant call number ranges:
Victorian-era Literature (British)
PR 460+
Victorian-era Literature (American)
PS 991+
Victorian-era History, Great Britain
DA 550-565
Use some of the following subject headings in the online catalog.
- Cookery, British
- Cookery, English
- Home Economics (then limit by publication date)
- Home Economics England 19th century
- Country or Region (ie. England) -- description and travel
- Country or Region -- guide books
- Indoor Games
- Amusements -- country
- Great Britain -- social life and customs -- 19th century
- Leisure -- Great Britain -- history
- Funeral Rites and Ceremonies -- by country
- Death-- social aspects
- Children -- Great Britain
- Women--history--England-- 19th century
- Working class -- Great Britain
Biography
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window1 simultaneous user. Contains 55,000 biographies of noteworthy people from all walks of life in the British past (not necessarily British citizens), including artists, scientists, writers, industrialists, performers, explorers, criminals, and eccentrics as well as politicians, church leaders, and soldiers, mariners, doctors, and lawyers. Bibliographies at the end of articles often include locations of individuals papers.
