The Victorian Web website is a good place to begin your research. It will help lay the foundation of your understanding of the Victorian era by connecting numerous aspects of the period.
Victorian Web presents information linked to other information related to primary and secondary texts (including scholarly book reviews) in British Victorian economics, literature, philosophy, political and social history, science, technology, and visual arts (painting, architecture, sculpture, book design and illustration, photography, decorative arts, including ceramics, furniture, jewelry, metalwork, stained glass, and textiles, costume and various movements, such as Art Nouveau, Japonisme, and Arts and Crafts).
Although the site concentrates on Great Britain in the age of Victoria (1837-1901), it includes material before and after those years, particularly in sculpture and architecture, and the site also has a good deal of comparative material.
Be an Efficient and Effective Researcher.
Start by watching the following short video tutorials:
Introduction to Discovery: Simple Search (6:32)
Learn how to conduct a Simple Search in the Discovery Catalog.
Introduction to Discovery: Cite, Save, Share (3:48)
Learn how to use the cite, link, email and save features of the Discovery catalog.
Basic Research Skills (4:55)
Learn basic research skills using the Discovery Catalog.
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) (2:26)
Learn how to find and use Library of Congress Subject Headings for a more efficient and effective search.
InterLibrary Loan (6:36)
Acquire books and articles when the Powell Library does not have what you want.
Seven Steps to Successful Research (8:50)
Follow these steps and become and efficient and effective researcher.
Last updated January 2024
Step 2 of the 7 Steps to Successful Research:
Get Background Information: Search broad range tools like encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks to provide background information, a readymade outline, expert authors, contextual parameters on a topic, and a greater understanding when reading other resources. While these types of resources are not cited in a scholarly research paper, they are extremely valuable in the early stages of a research project.
Find encyclopedias & dictionaries in the Powell Library catalog with these search queries:
> su:encyclopedias OR dictionaries AND great britain 19th century
> su:encyclopedias OR dictionaries AND kw:victorian
> su:encyclopedias OR dictionaries AND english literature
> su:encyclopedias OR dictionaries AND english literature 19th century
After you receive your results list, use the Resource Format filter on the left to limit the results to just Books. This will eliminate reviews of the encyclopedias and dictionaries.
Search Encyclopaedia Britannica Online and Wikipedia for articles which include extensively documented references, bibliographies and hyperlinks to related information on the Victorian Age, it's Authors, Artists, Paintings, Poetry, History, SocioPolitical culture, etc.
Victorian Literature (includes Victorian Poetry)
see also English Poetry
Gothic Fiction
Victorian painting
Lady of Shalott (painting)
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Awakening Conscience
William Holman Hunt
Dinah Craik (used for Dinah Maria Mulock)
The Mill on the Floss
Ulysses (poem)
Last updated January 2024.
Step 3 of the "7 Steps to Successful Research":
Search the Powell Library Catalog.
Below are some suggested search queries. Simply copy and paste them into the Powell Library Discovery catalog search box: https://masters.on.worldcat.org/. Also, try adding the key terms "comparative analysis" to each search.
su:victorian literature
su:victorian literature comparative analysis
su:english literature 19th century
su:english literature great britain 19th century
su:painting victorian
su:gothic fiction english
su:victorian literature masculine
su:feminine condition great britain 19th century
su:literary style victorian
su:voice in literature victorian
su:feminism victorian
su:victorian masculinity
su:victorian femininity
su:symbolism victorian
su:victorian culture
su:carlyle "work in literature"
su:"work in literature" 19th century
su:mill "liberty in literature"
su:"liberty in literature" 19th century
su:arnold "education in literature"
su:"education in literature" victorian
su:"education in literature" 19th century
su:historical fiction victorian
victorian gender vocation
voice victorian literature
darwin criticism
NOTE:"su::" is a command instructing the Discovery search engine to look only in the Subject field. Search queries without any field commands default to searching as keywords (kw:), i.e., all metadata fields within each record. Watch the Basic Research Skills video for more details.
Step 5 of the "7 Steps to Successful Research":
Systematic Serendipity - "Use Sources to Find More Sources"
When you get your results list, scan the Subjects, Table of Contents, and Summary to identify additional, key search terms for your topic. Also, search Library of Congress Subject Headings <https://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html> for related, variant, narrower and broader subject terms to search by. Watch the Library of Congress Subject Headings video tutorial for information on using LC Subject Headings.
Last update January 2024.
