Library Research Guides: WRIT 137: The Novels of Jane Austen: Home

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Welcome to the Research Guide for WRIT 137: The Novels of Jane Austen.

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Getting Started

Specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks can be a great place to start to find

a general overview of your topic, often written by scholars in the field
suggestions for other sources
definitions of key terms
vocabulary (keywords) for database searching

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew
Three copies available from the Internet Archive for limited borrowing.

"This fascinating, lively guide clarifies the sometimes bizarre maze of rules, regulations, and customs that governed everyday life in [19th century] England." (from the publisher)
An Oxford companion to the Romantic Age: British culture, 1776-1832 [e-book]
Chapters on broad topics such as Women, Empire, Policing, Law, Poverty, Class, Medicine, etc. Searchable.
Encyclopedia of Romanticism: Culture in Britain, 1780s-1830s [e-book]
"This encyclopedia is designed to survey the social, cultural and intellectual climate of English Romanticism from approximately the 1780s and the French Revolution to the 1830s. ... Focusing on "the spirit of the age", the book deals with the aesthetic, scientific, socioeconomic--indeed the human--environment in which the Romantics flourished."
Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850 [e-book]
Articles on prominent individuals, survey articles on history and literature during the Romantic Era, and other significant topics. Outside of Britain, includes significant content on Germany, France, Spain, and other European nations.
The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1740-1830 (e-book)
Publication Date: 2004
The first part of the volume focuses on broad themes including taste and aesthetics, national identity and empire, and key cultural trends such as sensibility and the gothic. The second part takes up the work of individual writers including Austen.
The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen (e-book)
Publication Date: 1997
The Cambridge Companion to 'Pride and Prejudice' (e-book)
Publication Date: 2013
Includes background information on the literary, historical, and economic of the novel, as well as critical analysis of key themes and topics.
All Things Austen: An A-Z encyclopedia by Kirstin Olsen
Call Number: Clapp Ref PR4036 .A275 2005
Print only
A Jane Austen Encyclopedia
Call Number: Clapp Reference PR4036 A28 1988
A detailed guide to the life and career of Jane Austen, with entries on her characters, family members, works, and themes. Includes a chronology of her life and literary/historical contexts. (Print only)