UCF Research Guides: English Databases: English

English Databases

Other Resources

Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
American Periodicals (ProQuest) (1741-1940) This link opens in a new window This database contains full text copies of periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and many other historically-significant periodicals.
Eighteenth Century Drama (Adam Matthew) (1660-1824) This link opens in a new window
Features include:
-Primary source documents; the focus of which is the Larpent collection of plays from the Huntington Library and Anna Larpent's Diaries
-The London Stage Database (1660-1800)
-The Biographical Dictionary Database of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers, and Other Stage Personnel in London, 16620-1800
English Drama (Proquest) This link opens in a new window
Essay & General Literature Index (H.W. Wilson) (1984+) This link opens in a new window
"Topics covered include art history & criticism, architecture & architectural history, archaeology, antiques, museum studies, graphic arts, industrial design, landscape architecture, interior design, folk art, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, decorative arts, costume design, television and video, motion pictures, advertising art, non-western art, textiles and much more."
Evans Digital: Early American Imprints, Series I, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window consists of more than 37,000 books, pamphlets and broadsides. See also America's Historical Imprints which includes Shaw-Shoemaker and two other supplements to the Evans Collection.
"For decades, the collection has served as a foundation set for research involving early American history, literature, philosophy, religion, and more. Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 is the definitive resource for information about every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War, temperance, witchcraft, and just about any other topic imaginable."
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Literature Criticism Online (Gale) This link opens in a new window
- Children’s Literature Review
- Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism
- Contemporary Literary Criticism
- Dictionary of Literary Biography
- Drama Criticism
- Literature Criticism 1400-1800
- Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism
- Poetry Criticism
- Shakespearean Criticism (see index information)
- Short Story Criticism
- Something About the Authors
- Twentieth Century Literary Criticism
Literature Resource Center (Gale) This link opens in a new window
MagillOnLiterature Plus (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
- Censorship
- Critical Survey of Drama
- Critical Survey of Long Fiction
- Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction
- Critical Survey of Poetry
- Critical Survey of Short Fiction
- Cyclopedia of Literary Characters
- Cyclopedia of Literary Places
- Cyclopedia of World Authors
- Dictionary of World Biography (The Ancient World, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance, The 17th & 18th Centuries, The 19th Century, The 20th Century)
- Encyclopedia of the Ancient World
- Ethics
- Guide to Literary Masters & Their Works
- Identities & Issues in Literature
- Magill's Book Reviews
- Magill's Choice: Holocaust Literature
- Magill's Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature
- Magill's History Annual, 1983-1985
- Magill's Literary Annuals, 1977+
- Magill's Survey of American Literature
- Magill's Survey of World Literature
- Masterplots
- Masterplots II: African American Literature
- Masterplots II: American Fiction
- Masterplots II: British & Commonwealth Fiction
- Masterplots II: Christian Literature
- Masterplots II: Drama
- Masterplots II: European Fiction
- Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Biography
- Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction
- Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature
- Masterplots II: Nonfiction
- Masterplots II: Poetry
- Masterplots II: Short Story
- Masterplots II: Women's Literature
- Masterplots II: World Fiction
- Sixties in America
Project MUSE (Johns Hopkins University) This link opens in a new window
Research Areas:
- Area & Ethnic Studies
- Art & Architecture
- Creative Writing
- Education
- Film, Theater, & Performing Arts
- History
- Language & Linguistics
- Library Science & Publishing
- Literature
- Medicine & Health
- Music
- Philosophy
- Religion
- Science, Technology, & Mathematics
- Social Sciences
- Studies by Time Period
- Women's Studies, Gender, & Sexuality

Primary Sources

American Periodicals (ProQuest) (1741-1940) This link opens in a new window
This database contains full text copies of periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and many other historically-significant periodicals.
British Periodicals (1681-1939) This link opens in a new window
"offers facsimile page images and searchable full text for nearly 500 British periodicals published from the 17th through the early 20th centuries."
"British Periodicals Collection I consists of more than 160 journals that comprise the UMI microfilm collection Early British Periodicals, the equivalent of 5,238 printed volumes containing approximately 3.1 million pages. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the fine arts and the social sciences."
"British Periodicals Collection II consists of more than 300 journals from the UMI microfilm collections English Literary Periodicals and British Periodicals in the Creative Arts together with additional titles, amounting to almost 3 million pages. Topics covered include literature, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture."
Early English Books Online (EEBO) (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700.

Available on the ProQuest platform. The Chadwyck Healey platform is no longer available.
Evans Digital: Early American Imprints, Series I, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window
consists of more than 37,000 books, pamphlets and broadsides.
See also America's Historical Imprints which includes Shaw-Shoemaker and two other supplements to the Evans Collection.
"For decades, the collection has served as a foundation set for research involving early American history, literature, philosophy, religion, and more. Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 is the definitive resource for information about every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War, temperance, witchcraft, and just about any other topic imaginable."
Literary Manuscripts: Berg (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
"The Berg Collection is recognised as one of the finest literary research collections in the world, and the Victorian holdings are the undisputed jewel in its crown.

A broad range of authors from across the nineteenth century make this an essential research tool for all scholars and students researching Victorian literature. Students and scholars are offered an unrivalled opportunity to explore the manuscripts, notebooks, letters and diaries of the nineteenth century’s greatest authors.

Literary Manuscripts Berg traces the genesis of some of the period’s greatest literary masterpieces through the unique manuscripts of their authors, many unavailable elsewhere. They are supplemented by rare printed materials, including early editions annotated by the authors. Each author collection is included in its entirety, allowing users to browse and search the manuscripts as they would in the Berg Reading Room. Authors represented include: Matthew Arnold, The Brontës, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy."
"Highlights:
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s two part diary from 1832, plus four notebooks containing working drafts of poems from 1843
- A manuscript of Wilkie Collins’ play The Lighthouse
- A substantial collection of original sketches, watercolours, and pen and ink drawings by William Makepeace Thackeray
- A letter by Charlotte Brontë describing the death of Emily Trollope’s holograph manuscript of his novel Miss Mackenzie
- An original watercolour by Emily Brontë entitled ‘Forget Me Not’
- Swinburne’s sequence of sonnets on the death of Browning
- Charles Dickens’ correspondence to Mrs Gaskell, Edgar Allan Poe, Leigh Hunt, George Lewes and many others
- Bound holograph manuscript of Hardy’s The Three Strangers

Key Features:
- Unique manuscripts made available for the first time: poems, essays, correspondence, pictorial works, photographs, miscellaneous autograph material.
- Selected collections of the Victorian authors have been captured in their entirety
- Biographies
- Chronology
- Abbreviations glossary"
Literary Manuscripts: Leeds (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
"This resource offers literary scholars the opportunity to examine manuscripts of 17th and 18th century verse held in the celebrated Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds. Alongside original compositions are copied verses, translations, songs and riddles.

The whole collection is situated within an assortment of manuscripts, some entirely dedicated to poetry, while others contain medicinal recipes, household accounts, draft letters, musical scores and plays. There are also several printed works, with handwritten verse additions."
"Highlights:
- All manuscripts are linked to the powerful BCMSV database which lists first lines, last lines, attribution, author, title, date, length, verse form, content, bibliographic references, MS and record number for over 6,600 poems within the collection
- View the way in which manuscript verse was originally recorded, read and circulated
- Examine the ways in which public and private spheres were defined through such manuscripts
- Many different types of manuscript are represented - from elegant presentation volumes to commonplace books and volumes of household accounts - these show the context of the poetry and are valuable sources for social and cultural history
- Poets represented include Mary Campbell, John Dryden, George Herbert, Mary Leapor, Andrew Marvell, Alexander Pope, Hester Pulter and Jonathan Swift. There are also countless songs, riddles and popular tags which tell us even more about contemporary society

Key Features:
- Biographical details of key authors and palaeography, providing transcriptions and alphabets of 17th century texts
- Linked to the powerful BCMSV database which lists first lines, last lines, attribution, author, title, date, length, verse form, content, bibliographic references, MS and record number for over 6,600 poems within the collection
- Essays by leading academics"
Literary Print Culture : The Stationers’ Company Archive, 1554-2007 (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
"Sourced from the archive of The Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers, located at Stationers’ Hall in the City of London, this resource allows access to a vast and unique collection of primary source documents. The collection is widely regarded as one of the most important primary sources for studying the history of the book as well as publishing history, the history of copyright and the workings of an early London Livery Company. Explore the variety of documents to uncover the story of the role the Stationers’ Company played in the history of the book trade."
Key themes:
-History of the Book Trade
-Bookselling
-Printing and Publishing
-Copyright
-History of the City of London
-Search and Seizure
Romanticism: Life, Literature and Landscape (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
"This digital resource offers unparalleled access to the single largest collection of working notebooks, verse manuscripts and correspondence of William Wordsworth and his fellow writers anywhere in the world. With access to the annotated full manuscripts of such notable works as The Prelude and Michael, or Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Dejection: An Ode this project is unrivalled in its content and scope.

Researchers and students can trace the interactions of key literary and political figures of the eighteenth and nineteenth century through the mass of personal correspondence and witness the close circles in which contemporary authors and artists moved and how they influenced each other’s work. Other materials include diaries, travel journals, scrapbooks, autograph books, financial records and receipts, each with detailed meta-data enabling in-depth analysis."
"Highlights:
- Explore William Wordsworth’s original verse manuscripts, working notebooks and some printed, annotated, editions.
- Explore the places that inspired literary creativity and poetic genius by tracing the movements of Romantic writers, poets and artists, in and around the Lake District with an interactive map.
- View over two thousand fine art pieces from celebrated artists such as John Constable, J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Gainsborough, Benjamin Robert Haydon and John Ruskin.
- Search guide books, and eighteenth and nineteenth century maps of the Lake District from the digital collection of Martin and Jean Norgate.

Key Features:
- Interactive map of the Lake District
- Scholarly essays
- Photographs of the Lake District courtesy of Martin and Jean Norgate
Photography
- Slideshow galleries
- An Art Wall featuring essays on selected fine art pieces
- Literary Lives biographies
- Chronology"
Shakespeare in Performance (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
"goes behind the scenes to shine a light on how Shakespeare’s plays have been interpreted by theatre companies, actors and directors across the centuries. The resource features prompt books from the world-famous collection at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. These prompt books tell the story of Shakespeare’s plays as they were performed in theatres throughout Great Britain, the United States and internationally, between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries."
Women Writers Project (Northeastern University) (1500-1800) This link opens in a new window
Full text of Pre-Victorian early modern women's writing. Currently has the electronic full text of over 200 texts from 1526 through 1850, a subset of which is Renaissance writers. The database will continue to grow in the coming years.