Use the resources listed on this page to find relevant information on topics in English Literature. They will give you access to both primary and secondary sources of information.
References to published materials in the arts and humanities including journal articles, letters, editorials and reviews.
This database is part of the Web of Science Core Collection. To search just this part select 'Arts & Humanities Citation Index' from the 'Editions' drop down list.
Introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics and periods in the subject areas of literature, philosophy, classics, religion and cultural studies.
Historical summaries covering a range of topics primarily in the humanities.
Plays and supporting critical and contextual material relating to works from the classical era to the present day. The collection features the theatre lists of Methuen Drama, the Arden Shakespeare and Faber and Faber, as well as production photos from the Victoria and Albert Museum and The American Shakespeare Center. Also available are plays, screen plays and theatrebooks from Nick Hern Books; Playwrights Canada Press, a collection of plays by emerging and established Canadian playwrights; plays from the Oberon Books collection; Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama Videos covering key plays and acting techniques; and the National Theatre collection, containing 30 filmed performances from the venue.
This resource covers a wide range of literary topics including full-text access to books and poetry, literary criticism and author biographies.
Archive of journal articles covering most subjects.
Please read the JSTOR terms and conditions of use before accessing JSTOR. You may not download an entire issue of a journal from the JSTOR database or keep multiple electronic or paper copies of any article. You may not alter or distribute any Content, including but not limited to transmission via email to another computer.
Merged online catalogues of many major UK and Irish academic, National libraries and specialist libraries.
References to publications covering literature, language, linguistics and folklore worldwide.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
Searchable research guides across a variety of subject areas.
Oxford Handbooks Online is a collection of review essays covering key issues and exploring major debates across different subject areas.
Access to articles in over 500 journal titles in arts, humanities and social sciences.
A yearbook of Shakespeare studies and production providing full-text access to articles and features, images and production photographs from 1948 to the present. Each volume covers a selected theme, specific play or group of plays, as well as reviews of reviews of textual and critical studies, and the major British performances for the year.
Online access to articles published in the TLS from 1902 to 2019.
Essentially a vast Library catalogue. Gives references to books, theses, and other published materials in all subjects.
Contains facsimile images of literary manuscripts, including letters and diaries, drafts of poems, plays, novels, and other literary works in the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
This resource covers a wide range of literary topics including full-text access to books and poetry, literary criticism and author biographies.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
Biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the year 2000.
Contains facsimile images of literary manuscripts, including letters and diaries, drafts of poems, plays, novels, and other literary works in the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
Plays and supporting critical and contextual material relating to works from the classical era to the present day. The collection features the theatre lists of Methuen Drama, the Arden Shakespeare and Faber and Faber, as well as production photos from the Victoria and Albert Museum and The American Shakespeare Center. Also available are plays, screen plays and theatrebooks from Nick Hern Books; Playwrights Canada Press, a collection of plays by emerging and established Canadian playwrights; plays from the Oberon Books collection; Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama Videos covering key plays and acting techniques; and the National Theatre collection, containing 30 filmed performances from the venue.
Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is a collection of TV and radio programmes from free-to-air channels. Set new recordings and playback programmes already recorded. Content back to 1990s.
Descriptions of early books printed in Great Britain or any of its dependencies in any language, as well as materials printed in English anywhere else in the world.
Gives references to journal articles, conference proceedings, essay collections or Festschriften covering all aspects of medieval studies.
Choose the International Medieval Bibliography database when you reach the homepage.
Gives reference to the Iter Bibliography covering the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, and the Bibliography of English Women Writers.
E-books published by Manchester University Press. Includes the following collections: Manchester History of Medicine; Manchester Medieval Sources; Manchester Shakespeare.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
Plays and supporting critical and contextual material relating to works from the classical era to the present day. The collection features the theatre lists of Methuen Drama, the Arden Shakespeare and Faber and Faber, as well as production photos from the Victoria and Albert Museum and The American Shakespeare Center. Also available are plays, screen plays and theatrebooks from Nick Hern Books; Playwrights Canada Press, a collection of plays by emerging and established Canadian playwrights; plays from the Oberon Books collection; Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama Videos covering key plays and acting techniques; and the National Theatre collection, containing 30 filmed performances from the venue.
Full-text early English books (1473-1700).
Online collection of correspondence of the early modern period, from across Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Descriptions of early books printed in Great Britain or any of its dependencies in any language, as well as materials printed in English anywhere else in the world.
Gives reference to the Iter Bibliography covering the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, and the Bibliography of English Women Writers.
E-books published by Manchester University Press. Includes the following collections: Manchester History of Medicine; Manchester Medieval Sources; Manchester Shakespeare.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
A yearbook of Shakespeare studies and production providing full-text access to articles and features, images and production photographs from 1948 to the present. Each volume covers a selected theme, specific play or group of plays, as well as reviews of reviews of textual and critical studies, and the major British performances for the year.
Exact reproductions of over 150,000 significant English language and foreign language titles printed in the UK in the Eighteenth Century and many titles from the Americas.
Descriptions of early books printed in Great Britain or any of its dependencies in any language, as well as materials printed in English anywhere else in the world.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
This collection includes more than 1000 pamphlets, proclamations, newsbooks and newspapers from the 17th and 18th Century. It covers the years 1600-1800 and includes material from England, Ireland, Scotland and some papers from British colonies in the Americas and Asia.
Search this resource simultaneously with other archive collections on Gale Primary Sources.
Full-text of dozens of national, regional, and local 19th century British newspapers reflecting the social and political developments of the time. We have access to Parts I and II, covering the years 1800-1900.
Plays and supporting critical and contextual material relating to works from the classical era to the present day. The collection features the theatre lists of Methuen Drama, the Arden Shakespeare and Faber and Faber, as well as production photos from the Victoria and Albert Museum and The American Shakespeare Center. Also available are plays, screen plays and theatrebooks from Nick Hern Books; Playwrights Canada Press, a collection of plays by emerging and established Canadian playwrights; plays from the Oberon Books collection; Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama Videos covering key plays and acting techniques; and the National Theatre collection, containing 30 filmed performances from the venue.
Nearly 100 full-text searchable 19th century periodicals covering women's writing, the rapid rise of children's entertainment and education, among other topics.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
Online access to articles published in the TLS from 1902 to 2019.
Video material including documentaries, interviews, performances, news programmes and newsreels covering a variety of events and themes.
Book History Online (BHO) is an international bibliography in the field of book and library history.
Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is a collection of TV and radio programmes from free-to-air channels. Set new recordings and playback programmes already recorded. Content back to 1990s.
Plays and supporting critical and contextual material relating to works from the classical era to the present day. The collection features the theatre lists of Methuen Drama, the Arden Shakespeare and Faber and Faber, as well as production photos from the Victoria and Albert Museum and The American Shakespeare Center. Also available are plays, screen plays and theatrebooks from Nick Hern Books; Playwrights Canada Press, a collection of plays by emerging and established Canadian playwrights; plays from the Oberon Books collection; Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama Videos covering key plays and acting techniques; and the National Theatre collection, containing 30 filmed performances from the venue.
Covering women’s writing in the British Isles from its beginnings to the present day, Orlando provides entries on authors' lives and writing careers, contextual material, timelines, sets of internal links, and bibliographies.
Online access to articles published in the TLS from 1902 to 2019.
In addition to EEBO (Early English Books Online) and ECCO (Eighteenth Century Collections Online), which are available only to members of the University, the following sites provide free access to texts online:
This playlist of two videos shows you how to prepare for and perform a literature search. The first video introduces literature searches and their role. The second video covers using the search operators AND and OR to create a search statement, and explains the role of wildcards and truncation in constructing a comprehensive search. This information is also available in written guides - see the links below.
Our Inter-Library Loans service can get articles, books and other publications not held at Reading from other libraries (usually from the British Library).
For more information see our webpages: