English Literature Research Resources

Thinking of putting your feelings for that special someone down in writing this Valentine’s Day?    Why not take inspiration from the experts?

Starting today, lovers around the world can read digitized versions of 573 love letters between 19th-century poet Elizabeth Barrett and fellow poet (and eventual husband) Robert Browning .

The digitization project is a collaboration between Wellesley and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, which houses the world’s largest collection of books, letters and other items related to the Brownings.

For more about this collection: http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/02/14/barrett-browning-love-letters.html

To view the Browning Letters:  http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/ab-letters

The British Library has recently launched a new app in conjunction with the ongoing Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination exhibition.

The exhibition displays part of the the British Library’s unique collection of medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts. Collected by the kings and queens of England over 800 years these treasures are outstanding examples of the decorative and figurative painting of the era.

The app, available for iPad, iPhone or android, displays 58 manuscripts from the exhibition, each with interpretive text.

Gale NewsVault allows you to search across Gale’s range of historical newspaper and periodical databases owned by SFU Library.   Save time, compare newspapers from a single day, search over 400 years of newspapers and periodicals all in one place!

Collections available through Gale NewsVault include:

* 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers
* 19th Century British Library Newspapers, Part I
* 19th Century UK Periodicals, Series I: New Readerships
* 19th Century UK Periodicals, Series II: Empire
* 19th Century U.S. Newspapers
* Economist Historical Archive 1843-2006 (not yet included in Gale NewsVault, but coming soon)
* Times Digital Archive 1785-1985

Comments and questions are welcome!  Email Rebecca Dowson, rda26@sfu.ca with your feedback.

I’m pleased to announce that SFU Library now has access to a new tool, British Newspapers 1600-1900, which allows you to search both the 17-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers & 19th Century British Library Newspapers at one time.