Eighteenth-Century Resources

General Eighteenth-Century Library Resources:

A Dictionary of British and American Women Writers, 1660-1800 (1985), edited by Janet Todd: A collection of short biographies with a list of the writings of each author and a short, helpful bibliography of works about them.
Dictionary of Literary Biography. Drama, 1660-1800, volumes 80, 84, and 89; Novel, volumes 39, parts 1 and 2; Poetry, volume 109; Book Trades, volume 154.
The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: women writers from the Middle Ages to the present, by Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements, and Isobel Grundy. (New Haven: Yale UP, 1990).
Modern Language Association Bibliography (MLA Bibliography): A list of books and articles published each year arranged by century, genre, and author.
The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, vol. 2: A chronological list of primary and secondary sources up to about 1968.
The Philological Quarterly bibliography (now called The Eighteenth Century: A Current Bibliography): An annotated bibliography published in July of each year. Early years of the PQ bibliography have been published in English Literature, 1660-1800, A Bibliography of Modern Studies.
Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture (1660-1700) and Scriblerian and the Kit-Cats (from Dryden to Sterne): Both are annotated lists of recent publications in the field.

Eighteenth-Century Drama, Novels, & Periodicals:

Eighteenth-Century Periodicals and the Theatre (grid). Eighteenth-Century Periodicals and the Theatre (text). Lists of periodicals that published reviews compiled by Lacey Williams and Paula Backscheider. Suggestions for additions are welcome.
Index to Book Reviews in England, 1749-1800, vols. 1-2, by Antonia Forster. An index of book reviews, including printed plays, arranged alphabetically by author and title of work.

Drama

The London Stage, 1660-1800: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainments, and Afterpieces. Lists all plays performed in London from 1660-1800 in chronological order; also gives information on actors, theatres, and occasionally reviews. The last volume has an index of playwrights and actors.
The London Stage, website. An updated version of The London Stage for 1700-1729.
A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, vols. 1-16, by Philip H. Highfill, et al. Comprehensive essays on everyone who did anything in theatre during this period.
The Dictionary of Literary Biography, vols. 80, 84, and 89. Entries summarize each play and include biographies and evaluations of careers. This series covers from the earliest Restoration to the end of the eighteenth century.
Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Theatre Research Bibliography. An annotated bibliography of articles and books on the theatre; after 1968 published yearly for several decades.
English Drama, 1660-1800: A Guide to Information Sources, by Frederick Link. Bibliographies on theatre history, theatres, actors, and much more.
The Revels History of Drama in English, ed. Clifford Leech and T. W. Craik. Multivolume history with essays on audiences, actors, theatres, trends and more.
The Prologues and Epilogues of the Restoration 1660-1700, and The Prologues and Epilogues of the Eighteenth Century, ed. Pierre Danchin. These sets contain the prologues and epilogues to plays performed during the Restoration and eighteenth century.
Women Playwrights in England, Ireland and Scotland, 1660-1823, by David and Susan Mann. A bibliography with biographies.
A Register of English Theatrical Documents, 1660-1737, Judith Milhous and Rob Hume, eds. A listing and description of archival materials.
Theatrical Criticism in London to 1795, by Charles Gray. Survey and commentary on sources of opinions and information about the London theatre from 1620-1795.
Remarks for The British Theatre, by Elizabeth Inchbald. These prefaces to the 125 “current acting plays” Inchbald chose for her commissioned 25-volume edition are one of the first sustained examples of literary criticism by a woman and join a number of important playwright-players’ analyses of the eighteenth-century repertory plays. Because they are the repertory, plays by Shakespeare and Johnson are there as well as most of the major plays written in the Restoration and eighteenth century.
Some Account of the English Stage, by John Genest. Notes on plays, playwrights, and actors from 1660-1830. Volume 10 contains an index of play titles and authors.
The Dramatic Censor, or Critical Companion, by Francis Gentleman. Critical reviews of selected eighteenth-century plays, indexed at the end of each volume.
Dramatic Miscellanies, by Thomas Davies. Reviews of plays performed during the eighteenth century with special attention paid to those roles performed by David Garrick. Also includes anecdotes of playwrights and actors.
Memoirs of the Life of David Garrick, by Thomas Davies. Includes a history of the stage and anecdotes about Garrick’s contemporaries.
A Comparison Between the Two Stages by Charles Gildon. Commentary on theatre in general.
Biographia Dramatica, by David Erskine Baker. Historical and critical memoirs through 1811 of British playwrights and actors with reviews of their works.

Novels

Eighteenth-Century Anglo-American Women Novelists: A Critical Reference Guide, by Doreen Alvarez Saar and Mary Anne Schofield. An annotated bibliography of publications on women novelists which includes publications on their poetry and drama as well.

Periodicals

British Union Catalogue of Periodicals, ed. James D. Stewart, et al. This is an alphabetical list of British periodicals from the seventeenth century through today.
A Census of British Newspapers and Periodicals 1620-1800, by Ronald S. Crane and F. B. Kaye. This is an alphabetical list of British newspapers and periodicals.
Index and Finding List of Serials Published in the British Isles, 1789-1832, by William S. Ward. Another alphabetical list of British periodicals.
Studies of British Newspapers and Periodicals from Their Beginning to 1800: A Bibliography, by Katherine Kirtley Weed and Richmond P. Bond.
British Literary Magazines, ed. Alvin Sullivan. This four-volume series details literary publications from 1698 through the eighteenth century.
English Literary Periodicals, by Walter Graham. Divided into sections by major periodicals, critical reviews, and types of periodicals such as theatrical, humor, and poetry.
Studies in the Early English Periodical, ed. R. P. Bond. Gives information on several major newspapers 1700-1760, including The Gazetteer, The Prompter, and The Female Spectator.
Freshest Advices: Early Provincial Newspapers in England, by R. M. Wiles.
Britain’s Theatrical Periodicals, 1720-1967, ed. Carl J. Stratman. Chronological list of theatrical periodicals beginning in 1720.
"A Catalogue of Magazine Novels and Novelettes, 1740-1815," in The English Novel in the Magazines, 1740-1815: With a Catalogue of 1,375 Magazine Novels and Novelettes, by Robert D. Mayo. A bibliography of narrative prose works of more than 5,000 words printed in serial publications other than newspapers.

Arts

University of Wisconsin Digital Library of the Decorated Arts and Material Culture Not many reproductions of literature works, limited selection of non-literature 18th-century works. All are HTML reproductions

Eighteenth-Century History:

British History Online A "digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles...Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust." Sources are searchable by places, subjects, and periods.
Britons, by Linda Colley.
A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Britain, by H.T. Dickinson. (Blackwell's Companion series)
Country and Court: England 1658-1714, by J.R. Jones.
The Eighteenth Century, by P.J. Marshall. (vol. 2 of The Oxford History of the British Empire)
Stability and Strife: England 1714-1760, by W.A. Speck.
Wars and Revolutions: Britain 1760-1815, by Ian Christie.
A Land of Liberty? England 1689-1727 by Julian Hoppitt
A Polite and Commercial People: England 1727 - 1783 by Paul Langford
A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783-1846 by Boyd Hilton

Eighteenth-Century Resources Online:

Andromeda An 18th-century search engine maintained by Jack Lynch.
The Aphra Behn Page This page contains information on Aphra Behn and links to other 18th-century sites.
c18 Bibliographies A collection of bibliographies of 18th-century writers edited by Jack Lynch. (This site includes the bibliography for Eliza Haywood.)
C18-L: Resources for 18th-century studies across the disciplines "This selective checklist, partially annotated, enumerates printed sources for studying the period 1660-1820 published since 1988."
Carnegie Mellon University 18th Century Studies Page
Chawton House Library Site focused on women’s writing 1600-1830, with some links to full-text novels
Drinking Songs and Barroom Lore The link to “Songbooks” will give the eighteenth-century sources
Early Eighteenth Century Newspaper Reports Organized by topic. Links to HTML reproductions of newspaper articles on a variety of topics, from trials at Old Bailey to marriage to popular amusements to religion and more
The Eighteenth-Century Novel A site dedicated to the Eighteenth-Century Novel. It is comprised of four divisions: books, electronic indexes & databases, electronic journals, and websites.
Eighteenth-Century Studies Access to journals articles from 1995-present on-line.
Georgian Theatre A web site maintained by William J. Burling at Southwest Missouri State University. This site contains lots of searchable primary material, much of it not in print. See especially the “New Plays Checklist,” which covers 1700-1810 and the “Daily Calendar of Major London Theatres", 1800-1810.
Historical Broadsides Broadsides from the 18th century to 1989
History and Development of Prose Style Compiled and maintained by John F. Tinkler.
The Internet Library of Early Journals This page is "a digital library of 18th and 19th Century journals," including Gentleman's Magazine, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
Jane Austen Includes her works, some with hypertext notes, her life, criticism, etc.
Newgate Calendar Facsimile reproductions of the entire Newgate Calendar from 1700-1760, which detailed criminals and executions
Old Bailey Proceedings Online Accounts of the criminal trials held at London’s central criminal court from 1674-1834
The Regency Page This is a very broad website including lots of costume information, and historical and biographical information. It includes fashion plates, portraits of women writers, and information on a variety of different people such as women writers, the Prince Regent, other nobility and famous personalities of the time, and even an 1815 diary of a farm girl.
University of Virginia e-texts Contains HTML reproductions of many texts from 1500-present, searchable by author
The Voice of the Shuttle: Restoration and 18th Century Great site with links and information on authors, conferences, criticism, etc.
William Hogarth This site is dedicated to the artist William Hogarth and is maintained by Bernd Krysmanski.

American Colonial Resources:

Accessible Archives 18th and 19th c. American periodicals
American Colonist’s Library Primary source douments related to early American history. HTML, not fascimile, reproductions.
American Memory Library of Congress online collection