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This series provides a high-quality selection of early printings of literary works, textual editions, anthologies and literary criticism which are of lasting scholarly interest. Ranging from Old English to Shakespeare to early twentieth-century work from around the world, these books offer a valuable resource for scholars in reception history, textual editing and literary studies.

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451 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies

Page 3 of 23

Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century
  • Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the Literary Anecdotes
  • Volume 3
  • John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1818
  • The subtitle of this eight-volume set is Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the 'Literary Anecdotes', which had been published in nine volumes by the author, editor and publisher John Nichols (1745–1826) between 1812 and 1815, and are also reissued in this series. Like its predecessor set, these 'illustrations' are a useful source of biographical material on authors and publishers at a time when many of the literary genres we take for granted, such as the novel, the autobiography and the analytical history, were first being developed. The volumes were published between 1817 and 1858, the project being continued after Nichols' death by his son and grandson. Volume 3 focuses on the judge and writer George Hardinge (1743–1816) and his family, but also includes material on Samuel Pepys, Robert Burns and the botanist Richard Pulteney.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
  • Volume 1, Part 2
  • Edited by Francis James Child
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • Harvard's first professor of English, the American scholar Francis James Child (1825–96) had previously prepared a collection of English and Scottish ballads, published in 1857–9, before he embarked on producing this definitive critical edition. Organised into five volumes and published in ten parts between 1882 and 1898, the work includes the text and variants of 305 ballads, with Child's detailed commentary and comparison with ballads and stories from other languages. Although he did not live to fully clarify his methods of selection and classification, modern scholars still refer to the 'Child Ballads' as an essential resource in the study of folk songs and stories in the English language. The work also contains a helpful glossary of archaic terms and a long list of sources. Volume 1, Part 2 (1884) contains ballads 29-53, including 'King Arthur and King Cornwall' and 'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship'.

The Tatler
  • Volume 4
  • Richard Steele
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    29 January 2015
    First published in:
    1797
  • The appearance of the first issue of The Tatler in 1709 is usually regarded as the beginning of periodical publication in England. Its founder, Richard Steele (1672–1729), intended 'a paper, which should observe upon the manners of the pleasurable, as well as the busy part of mankind … by way of a letter of intelligence, consisting of such parts as might gratify the curiosity of persons of all conditions, and of each sex'. The 'datelines' of the reports, on news, literature, and plain gossip, were from the most famous coffee houses of early Georgian London, and the contributors included Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison. The magazine was published for only two years, from April 1709 to January 1711: shortly afterwards, Steele and Addison co-founded The Spectator. This four-volume edition was issued in 1797 by a consortium of publishers, including John Nichols. Volume 4 contains numbers 190 to 271.

The Tatler
  • Volume 3
  • Richard Steele
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    29 January 2015
    First published in:
    1797
  • The appearance of the first issue of The Tatler in 1709 is usually regarded as the beginning of periodical publication in England. Its founder, Richard Steele (1672–1729), intended 'a paper, which should observe upon the manners of the pleasurable, as well as the busy part of mankind … by way of a letter of intelligence, consisting of such parts as might gratify the curiosity of persons of all conditions, and of each sex'. The 'datelines' of the reports, on news, literature, and plain gossip, were from the most famous coffee houses of early Georgian London, and the contributors included Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison. The magazine was published for only two years, from April 1709 to January 1711: shortly afterwards, Steele and Addison co-founded The Spectator. This four-volume edition was issued in 1797 by a consortium of publishers, including John Nichols. Volume 3 contains numbers 115 to 189.

Early Recollections
  • Chiefly Relating to the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, during his Long Residence in Bristol
  • Volume 2
  • Joseph Cottle
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1837
  • The reminiscences of Bristol bookseller Joseph Cottle (1770–1853) have been described as 'unreliable but essential'. The son of a tailor, Cottle was an avid reader, opening a bookshop in 1791. Three years later he was introduced to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, and became the earliest publisher of their works: through them, he also knew Wordsworth, and published the Lyrical Ballads in 1798. He later fell out with all three men, and in 1837 published (despite Southey and Coleridge's family attempting to prevent it) this quickly notorious two-volume work, through which Cottle lost an expensive libel case in which he was sued by Hannah More's coachman. Ten years later, he recast the book as Reminiscences of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey (also reissued in this series). Both works contain evasions and distortions, but are valuable for their account of some vital years in the lives of the great Romantic poets.

Three Notelets on Shakespeare
  • William John Thoms
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1865
  • Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, William John Thoms (1803–85) pursued literary and bibliographical interests and conversed with the likes of Thomas Macaulay and Charles Dickens. Most notably, he coined the term 'folklore' in 1846 and founded the scholarly periodical Notes and Queries in 1849. Having been published separately, these three essays on Shakespeare were brought together in this 1865 work. 'Shakespeare in Germany' (1840) spells out how German drama was influenced by English playwrights and by English actors performing plays in Germany from the late sixteenth century onwards. 'The Folk-Lore of Shakespeare' (1847) considers fairy lore and names, with particular attention paid to the characters of Puck and Queen Mab. In 'Was Shakespeare Ever a Soldier?' (1859), Thoms acknowledges that little is known for sure about Shakespeare's life, but careful scrutiny of the evidence has made him 'morally certain' that the dramatist had seen military service.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
  • Volume 4, Part 2
  • Edited by Francis James Child
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • Harvard's first professor of English, the American scholar Francis James Child (1825–96) had previously prepared a collection of English and Scottish ballads, published in 1857–9, before he embarked on producing this definitive critical edition. Organised into five volumes and published in ten parts between 1882 and 1898, the work includes the text and variants of 305 ballads, with Child's detailed commentary and comparison with ballads and stories from other languages. Although he did not live to fully clarify his methods of selection and classification, modern scholars still refer to the 'Child Ballads' as an essential resource in the study of folk songs and stories in the English language. The work also contains a helpful glossary of archaic terms and a long list of sources. Volume 4, Part 2 (1892) contains ballads 226-265, including 'Lang Johnny More' and 'The Knight's Ghost'.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
  • Volume 5, Part 2
  • Edited by Francis James Child
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • Harvard's first professor of English, the American scholar Francis James Child (1825–96) had previously prepared a collection of English and Scottish ballads, published in 1857–9, before he embarked on producing this definitive critical edition. Organised into five volumes and published in ten parts between 1882 and 1898, the work includes the text and variants of 305 ballads, with Child's detailed commentary and comparison with ballads and stories from other languages. Although he did not live to fully clarify his methods of selection and classification, modern scholars still refer to the 'Child Ballads' as an essential resource in the study of folk songs and stories in the English language. Volume 5, Part 2 (1898) contains additions and corrections, a helpful glossary of archaic terms, a long list of sources, musical scores for 46 of the ballads, indexes, and a bibliography.

Early Recollections
  • Chiefly Relating to the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, during his Long Residence in Bristol
  • Volume 1
  • Joseph Cottle
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1837
  • The reminiscences of Bristol bookseller Joseph Cottle (1770–1853) have been described as 'unreliable but essential'. The son of a tailor, Cottle was an avid reader, opening a bookshop in 1791. Three years later he was introduced to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, and became the earliest publisher of their works: through them, he also knew Wordsworth, and published the Lyrical Ballads in 1798. He later fell out with all three men, and in 1837 published (despite Southey and Coleridge's family attempting to prevent it) this quickly notorious two-volume work, through which Cottle lost an expensive libel case in which he was sued by Hannah More's coachman. Ten years later, he recast the book as Reminiscences of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey (also reissued in this series). Both works contain evasions and distortions, but are valuable for their account of some vital years in the lives of the great Romantic poets.

Reminiscences of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey
  • Joseph Cottle
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1847
  • Published in 1847 by Joseph Cottle (1770–1853), this work recounts his relationship with Coleridge and Southey, whom he first met in 1794 as a successful bookseller in Bristol. Cottle went on to finance a number of the Romantic poets' publications, including Wordsworth and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads (1798), which is seen as marking the start of Romanticism. A reworking of Cottle's controversial Early Recollections (1837), Reminiscences was criticised upon publication for being exaggerated and misleading, coloured by the breakdown of the author's friendship with the poets, as well as revealing information about disputes, moneylending and Coleridge's opium addiction. In spite of its shortcomings, the work gives a uniquely valuable insight into the lives and characters of the Romantic poets by a member of their inner circle. Cottle's memoir has much to reveal about the poets' private lives and artistic influences during a key moment in the Romantic period.

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
  • Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs, and Other Pieces of our Earlier Poets
  • Volume 3
  • Edited by Thomas Percy
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    29 January 2015
    First published in:
    1765
  • While visiting a friend, the writer and cleric Thomas Percy (1729–1811) noticed a neglected folio whose pages were being used by the maids to light the fire. Upon inspection, this manuscript was found to be a seventeenth-century collection of historical ballads. Following this discovery, Percy collected further ballads and songs from a number of sources, which he published in this three-volume work in 1765, although ultimately only a quarter of the texts he presented came from that original manuscript. Although this work proved to be incredibly popular, Percy's idiosyncratic editorial practices also received much criticism. The collection centres on historical ballads and romances, demonstrating the development of language, customs and traditions, to which Percy added contemporary ballads for his readers' enjoyment. Volume 3 includes ballads of Sir Gawain, King Arthur and St George and the Dragon, and contains the additions and corrections to all three volumes.

The Animal-Lore of Shakespeare's Time
  • Including Quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, Fish and Insects
  • Emma Phipson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1883
  • Shakespeare's plays contain a rich abundance of metaphors, similes and phrases relating to animals and the natural world, much of which can seem obscure to us today. First published in 1883, Emma Phipson's classic study sets in context the animal lore of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries to show how it affected the literature of the time. Drawing on a collection of compelling sources, this book explores the beliefs about natural science that influenced the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Phipson considers obscure writings by naturalists and antiquarians on a wide range of animals from the familiar to the exotic, and from the real to the mythical. Whether discussing hedgehogs or unicorns, the text shows how the Elizabethans' understanding of animals was coloured by hunting, travel, folklore and the Bible, and how this had a lasting impact upon language and culture.

Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century
  • Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the Literary Anecdotes
  • Volume 2
  • John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1817
  • The subtitle of this eight-volume set is Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the 'Literary Anecdotes', which had been published in nine volumes by the author, editor and publisher John Nichols (1745–1826) between 1812 and 1815, and are also reissued in this series. Like its predecessor set, these 'illustrations' are a useful source of biographical material on authors and publishers at a time when many of the literary genres we take for granted, such as the novel, the autobiography and the analytical history, were first being developed. The volumes were published between 1817 and 1858, the project being continued after Nichols' death by his son and grandson. Among the 'eminent persons' included in Volume 2 are the Shakespearian entrepreneur Lewis Theobald, the antiquarian William Stukeley, Sir Hans Sloane, and Sir Joseph Banks.

Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century
  • Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the Literary Anecdotes
  • Volume 5
  • John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1828
  • The subtitle of this eight-volume set is Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the 'Literary Anecdotes', which had been published in nine volumes by the author, editor and publisher John Nichols (1745–1826) between 1812 and 1815, and are also reissued in this series. Like its predecessor set, these 'illustrations' are a useful source of biographical material on authors and publishers at a time when many of the literary genres we take for granted, such as the novel, the autobiography and the analytical history, were first being developed. The volumes were published between 1817 and 1858, the project being continued after Nichols' death by his son and grandson. Among the 'eminent persons' included in Volume 5 are Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and the Chinese sculptor Chitqua, who visited London in 1769.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
  • Volume 3, Part 1
  • Edited by Francis James Child
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • Harvard's first professor of English, the American scholar Francis James Child (1825–96) had previously prepared a collection of English and Scottish ballads, published in 1857–9, before he embarked on producing this definitive critical edition. Organised into five volumes and published in ten parts between 1882 and 1898, the work includes the text and variants of 305 ballads, with Child's detailed commentary and comparison with ballads and stories from other languages. Although he did not live to fully clarify his methods of selection and classification, modern scholars still refer to the 'Child Ballads' as an essential resource in the study of folk songs and stories in the English language. The work also contains a helpful glossary of archaic terms and a long list of sources. Volume 3, Part 1 (1888) contains ballads 114-155, including many about Robin Hood.

A History of Japanese Literature
  • W. G. Aston
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1899
  • The diplomat and Japanese and Korean scholar William George Aston (1841–1911) wrote several highly regarded publications, particularly on the Japanese language. This work is a chronological survey of Japanese literature from its early songs to the European-influenced works of the nineteenth century. It covers lyrics, poetry, prose and children's stories, and charts the major themes in the history of Japanese learning. At the time of publication in 1899, Japanese literature was little known to European readers, and Aston is careful to assume no prior knowledge of the subject, focusing instead on the most important works and writers, and providing contextual political and religious detail where necessary. His treatment of contemporary literature, and of works not typically discussed for their literary merit, was groundbreaking. The book as a whole remained unsurpassed for eighty years. Aston's introductory survey of traditional Japanese religion, Shinto (1907), is also reissued in this series.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads
  • Volume 3, Part 2
  • Edited by Francis James Child
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
    First published in:
    1882
  • Harvard's first professor of English, the American scholar Francis James Child (1825–96) had previously prepared a collection of English and Scottish ballads, published in 1857–9, before he embarked on producing this definitive critical edition. Organised into five volumes and published in ten parts between 1882 and 1898, the work includes the text and variants of 305 ballads, with Child's detailed commentary and comparison with ballads and stories from other languages. Although he did not live to fully clarify his methods of selection and classification, modern scholars still refer to the 'Child Ballads' as an essential resource in the study of folk songs and stories in the English language. The work also contains a helpful glossary of archaic terms and a long list of sources. Volume 3, Part 2 (1889) contains ballads 156-188, including 'Flodden Field' and 'The Lads of Wamphray'.

Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century
  • Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the Literary Anecdotes
  • Volume 6
  • John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1831
  • The subtitle of this eight-volume set is Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the 'Literary Anecdotes', which had been published in nine volumes by the author, editor and publisher John Nichols (1745–1826) between 1812 and 1815, and are also reissued in this series. Like its predecessor set, these 'illustrations' are a useful source of biographical material on authors and publishers at a time when many of the literary genres we take for granted, such as the novel, the autobiography and the analytical history, were first being developed. The volumes were published between 1817 and 1858, the project being continued after Nichols' death by his son and grandson. Among the 'eminent persons' included in Volume 6 are the poet Anna Seward, Dr Johnson, the bibliographer Thomas Dibdin, and King George III.

Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century
  • Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the Literary Anecdotes
  • Volume 4
  • John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
    First published in:
    1822
  • The subtitle of this eight-volume set is Consisting of Authentic Memoirs and Original Letters of Eminent Persons, and Intended as a Sequel to the 'Literary Anecdotes', which had been published in nine volumes by the author, editor and publisher John Nichols (1745–1826) between 1812 and 1815, and are also reissued in this series. Like its predecessor set, these 'illustrations' are a useful source of biographical material on authors and publishers at a time when many of the literary genres we take for granted, such as the novel, the autobiography and the analytical history, were first being developed. The volumes were published between 1817 and 1858, the project being continued after Nichols' death by his son and grandson. Among the 'eminent persons' included in Volume 4 are Isaac Newton, the poet Abraham Cowley, the topographer Richard Gough, and the Scottish jurist Lord Kaimes.

Robin Hood
  • A Collection of All the Ancient Poems, Songs, and Ballads, Now Extant, Relative to that Celebrated English Outlaw
  • Volume 2
  • Edited by Joseph Ritson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    29 January 2015
    First published in:
    1795
  • A controversial literary critic and commentator, Joseph Ritson (1752–1803) made his reputation identifying and exposing literary forgeries. His enduring legacy, however, stems from his interest in the legend of Robin Hood. The combination of his passion for collecting literary antiquities, particularly medieval ballad poetry, and his political convictions in support of republican government, drew him to the tale of the English outlaw. This two-volume work, first published in 1795, is an important collection of texts relating to the legend. Ritson's aim was to present all the known poems and songs, and his research was so thorough that very little further material has been found since. This work helped transform the perception of the Robin Hood tradition, encouraging its serious study. As well as a selection of texts, Volume 2 contains an appendix of shorter pieces, including some song lyrics with scores.

Page 3 of 23