English 4970: Victorian Short Fiction   Tags: course guides  

The MU Libraries collections include many 19th century periodicals in print format. We list here some of the major examples. If you need to request volumes from the Depository, click on the title below to open the MERLIN catalog record, then click on "Request" at the top of the screen and follow the directions.

Most of these have also been digitized and are searchable in full text as part of the Hathi Trust Digital Library. To search within a specific journal, use the Advanced Catalog Search to locate the specific journal record, then view the catalog record to see the individual years. Click on a year to open the full text and search within that volume. Note that different catalog records come from different libraries and may contain different years. A volume that is not available in one place, may well be in another.

• The Academy and Literature
  050 Ac1, 1878-1912 in the Depository.
• All the Year Round
  AP4 .A4, 1859-1865 in the Depository.
• The Annual Register, or A View of the History, Politics, and Literature for the Year
  D2.A72, 1792-99, 1801-1803 in Special Collections, Rare; 1758-1837 in the Depository; 1838-1903 in the stacks 3 East.
• Bentley's Miscellany
  AP4.B43, 1837-1842 in Special Collections, Rare; 1843-1868 in the Depository.
• Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine
  050 B51, 1817-1905 in the stacks, 3 West.
• Chambers's Journal
  050 C35, 1832-1887 in the Depository. 
• Cornhill Magazine
  050 C81, 1860-1975 in the Depository; 1891-1941 microfilm in Special Collections.
• Cosmopolis
  050 C82, 1896 in the Depository.
• The Edinburgh Review
  050 Ed4, 1802-1929 in the stacks, 3 West. 
• The Fortnightly
  050 F778, 1865-1954 in the stacks, 3 West.
• Fraser's Magazine
  050 F864, 1831-1882 in the Depository.
• Gentleman's Magazine
  AP4 .G35, 1737-1820 in Special Collections, Rare; 1821-1850 in the Depository; 1868-1892 (incomplete) in the Depository.
• Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review
  050 G289, 1850-1868 in the Depository.
• Household Words
  050 H817, 1850-1859 in the Depository
• Illustrated London News
  AP4 .I3, 1842-1993 in the stacks, 4 East.
• Judy
  AP101 .J83, 1867-1869 in Special Collections, Rare.
• Macmillan's Magazine
  050 M22, vol. 1-14 in the Depository.
• The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal
  050 N434, 1821-1833 in the Depository.
• Punch
  AP101 .P8, 1848-1928 (incomplete) in Special Collections, Closed.
• The Savoy
  AP4 .S37, 1896 in the Depository.
• The Yellow Book
  820.5 Y38, 1894-1897 in Special Collections, Closed.

English Literary Periodicals 1681-1941 is a set of microfilm that includes many journals of interest. These are shelved alphabetically by the title of the journal or magazine in the microforms area of Special Collections. The guide Accessing English Literary Periodicals (Special Collections Reference PN5124.P4 A25 1981) includes a subject index, listing journals by broad subject category. Those focusing on 19th century fiction include:

• Ainsworth's Magazine
• Cabinet, A Monthly Magazine of Polite Literature
• Cabinet, or Monthly Report of Polite Literature
• Censor
• Edinburgh Literary Journal, or Weekly Register of Criticism and Belles Lettres
• Hood's Magazine
• Hood's Magazine and Comic Miscellany
• Ladies' Monthly
• Lady's Monthly Museum, or Polite Repository of Amusement and Instruction
• London Review
• Macmillan's Magazine 
• Monthly Magazine
• Monthly Magazine, or British Register
• National Magazine
• New Monthly
• New Monthly Magazine
• New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal
• New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register
• New Universal Magazine, or Miscellany of Historical, Philosophical, Political, and Polite Literature
• St. James's Magazine
• Saint Pauls
• Saint Pauls Magazine
• Sharpe's London Journal
• Sharpe's London Magazine
• Sharpe's London Magazine of Entertainment and Instruction
• Sixpenny Magazine
• Time
• Universal Magazine
• Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure
• Yellow Book

These sources list additional periodicals.

C19 is the most comprehensive index of 19th Century serials.
Use the advanced search to search within a specific periodical.

If you don't have a specific author or title in mind, but want to browse fiction within the serials, use the British Periodicals section within C19 and limit to content type "fiction/narrative".

C19 does not have full text of British periodicals, but the FindIt@MU links will appear next to each article and link you to online or print copies. If we have neither, it'll link you to ILL@MU. We should be able to get copies of things we don't have via interlibrary loan. 

Some works originally published in serials may appear in anthologies or collected works. To find a short work published within a larger one, try searching in Google Books, the Hathi Trust Digital Library, or use the Short Story Index to locate stories within anthologies.

The following bibliographies indicate additional sources:

• British Short Fiction in the Nineteenth Century: A Literary and Bibliographic Guide
  PR861 .H35, stacks 2 East
• A Checklist of Women Writers, 1801-1900: Fiction, Verse, Drama
  Z2013.5.W6 A48 1990, stacks 1 West

See Lionel Madden and Diana Dixon, "Histories and Studies of Individual Periodicals,"  and Joel H. Wiener, "Circulaton and the Stamp Tax" in Victorian Periodicals: A Guide to Research (Reference PN 5124 .P4 V5) for excellent directions on researching publishing history.  

Use these resources for quick background information on specific serials:

• Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals
  This contains a wealth of information, but it is tricky to get to. Do a search on the title of the periodical you are interested in. This displays a list of articles from that periodical. Open any of these brief records and then click on the publication title. This displays extensive introductory material with notes on additional sources.
• Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Journalism
  The DNCJ also has very useful background information on periodicals, publishers, editors, printers, distributors, and topics. Click on Browse at the bottom of the search page for a helpful overview.

To find studies on periodicals, use the standard research tools (MLAIB, LION, MERLIN, etc.) but also consult these more specialized bibliographies:

• Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, vol. 4, sec. 16 "Newspapers and Magazines"
  Reference PR83 .N45 1999
• The Nineteenth-Century Periodical Press in Britain: A Bibliography of Modern Studies 1901 to 1971
  lists studies of individual periodicals that may contain useful information.
  Z6956.G6 M3, stacks 1 West
• Victorian Periodicals Newsletter (1968-1978) and Victorian Periodicals Review (1979-present) provide updates.

The following works are helpful in exploring the world of Victorian publishing and reading habits:

• Victorian Publishing: The Economics of Book Production for a Mass Market, 1836-1916
  Z325 .W425 2003, stacks 1 West
  The first chapter, on the use of archival resources, is available online.
• The English Common Reader: a Social History of the Mass Reading Public, 1800-1900
  Z1003 .A57, stacks 1 West
• Politics and the Press c. 1780-1850
  Depository 072 As66p

These 19th Century sources give insight into the marketing and distribution of reading material:

• Bent's Literary Advertiser, Register of Books, Engravings, &c. 1835-1839
• Bookseller: the Organ of the Book Trade 1861-1907 (incomplete)
Z6956.G6 M3, stacks 1 West
• "Appendix A: A Descriptive Guide to the Contents of the Stamp Returns, 1824-70," in Victorian Periodicals: A Guide to Research, pp. 166-169 (Reference PN 5124 .P4 V5) indicates where to find records of the tax on periodicals in the parliamentary papers.
• "Appendix B: Some Sample Circulations Derived from the Stamp Returns, 1829-54," in Victorian Periodicals: A Guide to Research, pp. 170-173 (Reference PN 5124 .P4 V5) provides estimates of circulation derived from the tax returns for a sample of periodicals.

These sources help locate archival records for periodicals, publishers and authors.

• WorldCat
  Search the name of the publisher as a "named corporation" to find business records or archives.
• National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
• British Book Trade Archives 1830-1939 : a Location Register
  Special Collections, Rare Reference Z325 .W444 1996
  An abbreviated list is available online.
• A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States
  CD3022 .A45 1961, stacks 3 East
• National Archives (UK)
• National Register of Archvies (UK)
• Index of English Literary Manuscripts
  Vol. 4: 1800-1900
  Special Collections Rare Reference PR83 .I52 1980
• Location Register of English Literary Manuscripts and Letters: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
  Special Collections Rare Reference PR441 .L6 1995
• Primary Sources for Victorian Studies: A Guide to the Location and Use of Unpublished Materials  
  Depository Z2019 .S86

Prof. Elizabeth Chang
change@missouri.edu
362 McReynolds
Office Hours: Tuesday 9-12 and by appointment

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