Victorian literature
These pages include resources for the new AQA Specification A AS Level English Literature (LTA1A and LITA2 Option A) as well as additional materials that will, it is hoped, be useful to students, teachers and other readers whether or not they are following an examination course.
There are many texts and sites to list, so this topic is covered on several pages in addition to these general resources. Use the images on the right or the links in the menu on the left to find your way round.Useful websites
Literature
- The Victorian Web: a very rich source of materials and links.
- Norton Anthology of English Literature: Victorian Age: topics - useful overview of issues of the time.
- The Victorian Literary Studies Archive from Mitsuharu Matsuoka
Finding texts online
See the usual sources of online texts listed on the literature links page, in particular:- Project Gutenberg
- The Victorian Web provides links to texts for many authors.
History
- BBC Victorian History section. These timelines should prove useful:
- Britain Express: as its name implies, this site gives a brief overview that might be a good starting point for those with little historical knowledge.
- History World: good overview of the period; the Victorian era is dealt with in two sections: 1837-1854 and 1854-1901.
- Opposing Voices: Wordsworth, Dickens and others on the coming of the railways
- Victorian links from Sylvia Milne.
Art
- Art and images: see the list on the literature links page
- Manchester Art Gallery has a good collection of Victorian paintings, such as Ford Madox Brown's Work and Holman Hunt's The Light of the World.
If you are teaching or studying the AQA course it is essential to refer to the AQA specification to ensure that you are reading the right texts and meeting all the requirements!
