Today marks the 150th anniversary of the death of beloved Victorian writer Charles Dickens. Dickens passed away at his country home in Kent, Gad’s Hill, on Thursday, June 9, 1870, having suffered a stroke the previous evening. He spent the morning of June 8 working on his last (unfinished) novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. …
January 17, 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of poet and novelist Anne Brontë. Anne, the youngest child in the Brontë family, was particularly close to her sister Emily, who was two years older. Anne was too young to attend the Cowan Bridge school where the eldest Brontë girls died (immortalized as Lowood …
Special Collections is featuring the work of eminent Victorian novelist George Eliot (Marian/Mary Anne Evans) in a small case exhibit celebrating the 200th anniversary of her birth on Nov. 22, 1819. “The World of George Eliot” showcases first editions of her major novels, like Middlemarch, Silas Marner, and The Mill on the Floss. The exhibit …
Special Collections’ newest major exhibit, Welcome to Our Charity Bazaar, features an interesting subgenre of Victorian literature: poems, stories, and books produced for sale at fundraising fairs throughout the 19th century in Great Britain and the United States. Many famous authors of the period contributed pieces which were printed either as standalone items or anthologized …
This week marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of British illustrator John Leech (Aug. 29, 1817). As a teenager, Leech studied medicine, but when his father’s business failed, the young man turned to his first love – drawing – to help support his family. Leech’s first success was producing humorous lithographs in the 1830s. …
For Women’s History month, today’s post features some of our newest literary acquisitions by women authors, across several genres, from Victorian sensation fiction to the how-to book. VICTORIAN NOVELS Harriet Rakes, The Marriage Contract. London, 1849. Call number: Victorian Collection PR 5205 .R68 M3 1849 Elizabeth Missing Sewell, Ivors, or The Two Cousins. London, 1856. …
2016 kicks off a four-year commemoration of the life and works of siblings Charlotte (1816-1855), Branwell (1817-1848), Emily (1818-1848) and Anne Brontë (1820-1849). During the month of May, Special Collections will exhibit first editions of the Brontë sisters’ poems and novels. The exhibit will also examine how the Brontë family was memorialized in the 19th …
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Celebrate with a book of Irish literature! Special Collections owns many first editions of literary works by Irish writers of the 19th and 20th centuries, from prolific novelist Charles Lever to modernist provocateur James Joyce. Here are a few suggestions to get your celebration started, whatever your literary taste: Start traditionally …
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….” (Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities) “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” (Bronte, Jane Eyre) “It is a truth universally acknowledged….” (Austen, Pride & Prejudice) Great 19th century British novels provide some of the best opening …
Lewis Carroll’s beloved Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first issued by his London publisher, Macmillan, in July 1865. Before Alice Carroll had published a number of mathematical works under his true name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He adopted his famous pseudonym in 1856 for the many poems, short prose, and even puzzles which he submitted to …