British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians Childhood

Discover a wealth of original sources from the Romantic and Victorian periods, including original manuscripts, rare first editions, newspapers, diaries, letters, photographs, and maps.

Read newly-commissioned articles on Victorian and Romantic literature.

Throughout the course of the 19th century, the middle classes expanded rapidly. Those moving up the social scale had to learn new modes of behavior and ways of life. These articles research how this sector of society was reflected in the...

A series of articles that research how gender roles were defined in the 19th century, and how they were represented in the literature of the period.

From eccentric inventions to fears of invasion; from social degeneration to visions of the apocalypse - these articles research literary depictions of the future and how they reflect contemporary fears of social, technological, and...

The 19th century saw a rapid technological change, together with paradigm shifts in scientific understanding. These articles research how authors responded to the new possibilities afforded by technology and science.

From Romantic poetry to Gothic horror, from depictions of poverty and industrialization to portrayals of the middle classes, and from crime fiction to fin de siecle decadence: the literary works of the Romantic and Victorian periods...

How did rising literacy rates, libraries, and new technologies influence literature and reading habits during the Romantic and Victorian periods? These resources answer this question.

These articles answer the following questions about novels between 1832-1880: From Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell to George Eliot, how did the writers of this period use fantasy, realism, sensationalism, and...

The Victorian period heralded a new wave of poetry that was influenced by its Romantic predecessors yet distinctly different. Read articles on how the Victorian poets approached composition, form and language, and what inspired their...