Resources
for
Victorian Research

These are particularly exciting times for research into the culture and society of nineteenth-century Britain and its empire.  Thanks to newly accessible sources and new methods of exploring and sharing them, the immensely varied activities of today’s busy researchers are revealing just how much we have yet to learn and understand about this pivotal period despite decades of intense scrutiny.  

The aim of the Victoria Research Web is to assist scholars, at whatever stage of their studies, in making their way through the complex and ever-changing landscape of research resources pertinent to the long nineteenth century. The various sections of the VRW are intended to supply advice and links to help Victorianists find the practical information that they need to do their work, whether it's an online database, an archive catalogue, a bibliography, a listserv address, a cheap place to stay in London, or a journal's submission guidelines. 

Some of these resources -- such as the popular guide to Open Access 19th-century Periodicals, the dated but still useful VanArsdel bibliography of periodical research, Sally Mitchell's introduction to researching Victorian fiction, and the Weedon guide to using Victorian publishers' records -- are hosted here exclusively.  VRW is particularly proud to host "At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837-1901," Troy Bassett's indispensable bibliographical database of Victorian novels and their authors, now amounting to many thousands of titles and names.  

Appearing here, too, is the popular VRW guide to planning the research trip to Britain.  The Curran Index, which identifies the authors of thousands of unsigned articles, reviews, stories, and poems in the 19th-century periodical press, was begun here at VictorianResearch.org and now resides at its own domain, supported by the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. An interactive database for exploring the archives of the long-running VICTORIA discussion group puts at your fingertips over thirty years' worth of discussion by Victorianists around the world.

We hope you will find the Victoria Research Web helpful in planning your own Victorian researches.  Much good luck with those projects.

VRW is organized by type of resource, not by subject.  So, for example, if you want to know how to find someone's unpublished letters, look under "Archives."  If you want to explore books or newspapers, look under "Printed Sources."  Some of the most important and innovative sites devoted to particular authors and topics can be found under "Exploring Victorian Projects."

Fall/Winter 2024: The site is being revised and updated, so please excuse a good many inactive links in some sections in the meantime.  Please send any comments or suggestions to webmaster@victorianresearch.org.

Research Resources

• Archives: locating unpublished materials, especially manuscripts
  • Key works of reference
  • Sorting out copyright
  • The National Archives
  • NUCMC and A2A
  • 19th-century family and census data
  • A guide to Victorian holdings in selected archives in Britain and the U.S.
  • Other archival records
    • Victorian publishers' archives, including the Weedon Guide to Research.
    • Banking records

• Printed Sources: Libraries, Serials, Pictures, Books:
  • Research guides to reference sources in libraries
  • Links to library catalogues
  • Using the British Library
  • Finding out about
    • periodicals
      • the VanArsdel bibliography
      • the Curran Index to Wellesley Revisions
      • "Biographies of Some Obscure Contributors"
      • other periodical research resources
      • The digital revolution: periodicals
    • newspapers and their own digital revolution
    • pictures of people and places
  • Bibliographical resources, including
    • "At the Circulating Library," a database of three-volume novels, and
    • topical bibliographies
  • Book reviews on-line

• Planning the Research Trip: tips for working in Britain
  • Online travel guides
  • Places to stay
  • Getting around
  • Staying connected
  • Fun stuff: Victorian sightseeing and the London Lectures List

Journals, Societies, and Series

Journals, societies, and series. Links to some of the major journals in the field as well as to a number of Victorian Studies Organizations, along with a short list of book publishers' series.

Discussion

The VRW guide to Groups, Blogs, and Podcasts covers all sorts of places for reading about and discussing the 19th century, including listservs, bulletin boards, social networking sites, and blogs.

Exploring Victorian Projects

The VRW annotated guide to other important 19th-century resources to explore online.

• General Guides
• Some Major Sites
• Other Resources of Interest

Victoria Research Web, 1996-2024. Created by Patrick Leary