LibGuides: British Literature: British Literature

British Lit Resources

Databases
Books
Reference
Journals
Media

Literature-specific

MLA International Bibliography
Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), this database provides a subject index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics.
Literary Sources
Literary Sources provides information in primary sources, critical articles, literary and cultural analysis, and biographies.
Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Provides citations from scholarly books and journals pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700) periods.

Humanities-focused

Project MUSE
Project MUSE is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers providing 100% full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to over 300 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 60 scholarly publishers.
JSTOR
JSTOR provides access to full-text academic electronic journals in various disciplines including economics and finance, political science, history, literature, anthropology, mathematics, sociology, statistics, and education.

Biography Resources

Biography in Context
The Biography Resource Center is a comprehensive database of biographical information. Search for people based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as keyword and full text.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Biography and Genealogy Master Index contains citations that point to over 15 million biographies on nearly 5 million people, living and deceased, from all time periods, geographical locations, and fields of endeavor.

Butler Libraries use the Library of Congress classification system, so you can find British Literature books on the second floor of Irwin Library within this call number range:

PR 1 - PR 9680

Suggested Titles

Modern British Women Writers by Vicki K. Janik (Editor); Del Ivan Janik (Editor)
Publication Date: 2002

"Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes an overview of the writer's background, an analysis of her works, an assessment of her achievements, and lists of primary and secondary sources."
Folklore and the Fantastic in Nineteenth-Century British Fiction by Jason Marc Harris
Publication Date: 2008

"Arguing that the tensions between folk metaphysics and Enlightenment values produce the literary fantastic, Jason Marc Harris demonstrates that a negotiation with folklore was central to the canon of British literature." Available as an ebook.
Postwar British Literature and Postcolonial Studies by Graham Macphee
Publication Date: 2011

"Examines the legacy of imperialism and decolonisation, globalisation and national identity." Available as an ebook.
Monsters, Gender and Sexuality in Medieval English Literature by Dana M. Oswald
Publication Date: 2010

"Through a close examination of the way in which their bodies are sexed and gendered, and drawing from postmodern theories of gender, identity, and subjectivity, this book interrogates medieval notions of the body and the boundaries of human identity." In print at Irwin Library.

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Suggested Titles

Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature by David Scott Kastan (Editor)
Publication Date: 2006

Volumes 1-5 area available in the Reference section of Irwin Library.
Everyone in Dickens by George Newlin
Publication Date: 1995

Three volume set is available in the Reference section of Irwin Library.
All Things Austen by Kirstin Olsen
Publication Date: 2005

"Alphabetically arranged entries on the world of the English author, covering the social customs and culture of her time and including such topics as etiquette, gentry, marriage, religion, travel, and servants." Available in the Reference section of Irwin Library.

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Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
"The definitive record of the English language."
Cambridge Histories Online
Oxford Reference Online (ORO)
The Premium Collection offers a huge range of fully-indexed, extensively linked, up to date, and cross-searchable dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press, including detailed information across a broad subject range from titles in the world-renowned Oxford Companions series.

Suggested Titles

English Literary History (ELH)
"ELH publishes superior studies that interpret the conditions affecting major works in English and American literature."
The Chaucer Review
Available from 2000 to present in Project MUSE. Historical editions are available in JSTOR.
Essays in Criticism
"Regarded as one of Britain's most distinguished journals of literary criticism. Essays in Criticism covers the whole field of English Literature from the time of Chaucer to the present day."
SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900
"SEL focuses on four fields of British literature in rotating, quarterly issues: English Renaissance, Tudor and Stuart Drama, Restoration and Eighteenth Century, and Nineteenth Century."

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Journals A-Z
Trying to track down an article? Journals A-Z will show you whether we own the journal, what years we have access to, and give you links into the databases that provide full-text. Search by journal title.

Suggested Titles

The Brilliant Bronte Sisters
A 45-minute video that "searches for an answer to a puzzling question: 'How did three spinsters who spent most of their lives in a remote parsonage on the edge of the moors come to write books so shocking, erotic, profoundly moving and quite wonderful?'"
The Genius of Roald Dahl
"Comedian and best-selling author David Walliams delves into Dahl’s world, along the way meeting those who knew him best."
Lord Byron
A 45-minute biographical video of the poet.

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AVON - Academic Video Online (Alexander Street Press)
AVON: Academic Video Online is a comprehensive multidisciplinary streaming video resource.
Films on Demand
Films on Demand is a state-of-the-art streaming video platform for a variety of educational media content.

Sharing our eVideo with others?
With both of these databases, you'll need to do a little more than copy/paste the top URL. These directions will walk you through it, step-by-step.

Digital Collections & Primary Sources: British Literature

There are many, many specific primary source collections online. Click on the titles below to explore a few in particular. If you don't see a collection that relates to your topic, reach out to your liaison librarian for individual research support.

The European Library
"Designed to meet the needs of the research community worldwide, our online portal offers quick and easy access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries."
The British Library
We recommend that you explore under the Collections and Discovery tabs. In particular, pay attention to the Online Gallery, Treasures, and Learning collections.

Project Gutenberg

Newspaper Source Plus
This database provides a full-text digital collection of the world's major news content. It includes millions of articles from newspapers, newswires and news magazines. In addition, it offers television and radio news transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources.

Times Literary Supplement
Years 1920-1968 are available in print at Irwin Library.
Project Bartleby
Free, online access to public domain titles, including the Harvard Classics series.

British Literature: British Literature

British Lit

British Lit Resources

Digital Collections & Primary Sources: British Literature

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