British Library
British Library: Bronte's Jane Eyre: Women in 19th Century England
Through an exploration of a range of historical sources, this activity will develop students' understanding of some of the pressures facing women in the 19th century and to consider the problems that Charlotte Bronte encountered as a...
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British Library: Dickens's Great Expectations: The Gothic, the Uncanny
This activity will introduce the idea of the uncanny and explore its expression within the narrative form of Charles Dickens's novel "Great Expectations".
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British Library: Dickens's Great Expectations: Social Mobility
This lesson will explore this theme of social mobility through a reading of extracts from Samuel Smiles's Self-Help (1859), the handbook that many young men in 19th-century Britain turned to in seeking advice as to how to better...
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British Library: Dickens's a Christmas Carol: Poverty, Money and Miserliness
In this activity, students will consider the economic and political context that informs Charles Dickens's famous novella, A Christmas Carol.
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British Library: Blake's 'The Tyger': A Close Reading
Through these teaching ideas, students are encouraged to explore William Blake's innovative approach to creating and displaying his poetry, developing their understanding of the multi-talented individual whose poems and artwork continue...
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British Library: Blake's 'The Chimney Sweeper': Literature & Injustice
In this lesson plan, students will explore sources related to the lives of chimney sweepers in the early 19th century, highlighting the conditions endured by the children whose plight William Blake highlights in his 'Chimney Sweeper'...
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British Library: Barrett Browning's Poetry: Social & Political Commentary
Elizabeth Barrett Browning gave a voice, in her poems, to many of those oppressed by contemporary injustice: child laborers, the poor, and the enslaved. In this lesson, students will give these voices dramatic form, using the techniques...
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British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Work & Welfare
This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
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British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Gender, Behaviour & Etiquette
This thematic collection will allow learners to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
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British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Education
This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
British Library
British Library: 19th Century Non Fiction Texts: Crime & Punishment
This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...
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British Library: Austen's Pride and Prejudice: Social Judgement
By studying these resources, students will be able to more ably appreciate the complexity of Jane Austen's craft in representing the different classes of early 19th-century society. [PDF]
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British Library: Austen's Persuasion: Status, Rank & Class
Through these activities, students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of what gave Jane Austen's contemporaries status in their society; how important a person's rank and position in society was, and how knowing the...
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British Library: Austen's Emma: Social Realism & the Novel
In the course of the novel's development, Jane Austen was a significant contributor to the emergence of the modern novel as we know it today. The review of Emma in the Quarterly Review (October 1815) makes clear to a modern audience how...
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British Library: A Christmas Carol: Discovering Literature Resources
This list is a list of resources that can be used for Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol". Included are articles on the setting, analysis of the text, and links to additional teaching resources.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians Collection Items
Discover a wealth of original sources from the Romantic and Victorian periods, including original manuscripts, rare first editions, newspapers, diaries, letters, photographs, and maps.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians Articles
Read newly-commissioned articles on Victorian and Romantic literature.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians Gender and Sex
A series of articles that research how gender roles were defined in the 19th century, and how they were represented in the literature of the period.
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians Visions
From eccentric inventions to fears of invasion; from social degeneration to visions of the apocalypse - these articles research literary depictions of the future and how they reflect contemporary fears of social, technological, and...
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians the Middle Class
Throughout the course of the 19th century, the middle classes expanded rapidly. Those moving up the social scale had to learn new modes of behavior and ways of life. These articles research how this sector of society was reflected in the...
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British Library: Discovering Literature: Romantics & Victorians Technology
The 19th century saw a rapid technological change, together with paradigm shifts in scientific understanding. These articles research how authors responded to the new possibilities afforded by technology and science.
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British Library: 20th Century Works: Wise Children
Read an overview of "Wise Children" by Angela Carter and view additional resources such as articles, collection items, and teacher resources.
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British Library: 20th Century Works: Waiting for Godot
Read an overview of the play "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett and view additional resources such as articles, collection items, and teacher resources.
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British Library: 20th Century Works: The Deep Blue Sea
Read an overview of "The Deep Blue Sea" by Terence Rattigan and view additional resources such as articles and collection items.