English Literature: April 2009 Archives
JSTOR recently announced the release of The 19th Century British Pamphlets Project, a collection of more than 20,000 of the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries.
The collection brings together many of the pamphlets which played a vital part in the intellectual, economic and social landscape of 19th century Britain. Highlights include:
- Pamphlets by and about: Charles Babbage, W.E. Gladstone, Florence Nightingale, Charles Bradlaugh, Joseph Hume, Thomas Paine, John Bright, John Stuart Mill, Robert Peel
- Valuable content inside and appended to pamphlets: Advertisements, diagrams and maps, petitions, annotations, engravings, portraits, cartoons, letters
- 7 Collections represented, including Selections from the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection
TU Libraries now has access to Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period!Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period is a collection of works from approximately 70 Scottish women lyric poets written between 1789-1832.
Each author entry offers a bio-biographical sketch or essay, including what is known about their lives, plus a bibliography of their primary works and of criticisms and reviews.
Examples of poets include: Carolina Oliphant, Catherine Ward, Frances Chadwick, Margaretta Wedderburn, and Jessie Stewart.
Additional information about the database is available.
Happy Birthday Shakespeare!No one really knows the exact date of Shakespeare’s birth, although he was baptized on April 26,1564, and died on April 23, 1616. April 23 is also St. George's Day, and this may be why it was decided to observe the birth of England’s greatest poet and dramatist on the feast day of England’s patron saint.
Shakespeare's contributions to the richness and beauty of the English language are still recognized today -- phrases like 'taking a pound of flesh', 'wearing our heart on our sleeves,' and 'to be eaten out of house and home' all began with the Bard.
Check out one of his plays! The library's Shakespeare video collection contains many traditional and contemporary productions. Or, stream and play a performance using Theatre in Video.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Seth Grahame-Smith's recently published satirical spin of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. In this reworking, feisty Elizabeth Bennet is a slayer with mad martial arts skills, who is determined to rid the world of flesh-eating undead. Amidst the mayhem, Lizzie finds love and even fights Lady Catherine's cadre of ninjas to win her Mr. Darcy.
An interview with the author, discussing his ideas for the revised novel, is available here.
I left wondering 1) if Miss Austen would chuckle over her heroine's new display of boldness and 2) whether a potential film version would include Colin Firth.
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