January 8 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Victorian author Wilkie Collins, whose thrillers like The Woman in White and The Moonstone still capture readers with their plot twists and sympathetic characters. To celebrate, the Special Collections Reading Room features a small exhibit of first editions of these two novels as well as other books …
This week marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott, born in Edinburgh on August 15, 1771. Scott was one of the most popular English language authors of 19th century, whose work was frequently reprinted in both Great Britain and the USA. His Romantic poetry and historical novels …
Special Collections’ exhibit commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Wordsworth is now open to the public! Though postponed from Wordsworth’s actual birth month of April due to COVID precautions, the exhibit is part of a worldwide network of events (learn more at http://wordsworth250.org). The Special Collections exhibit, “Wordsworth at BYU,” was curated …
This nondescript book in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections recently turned 200. John Keats’ final book, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St Agnes, and other Poems, was published in early July 1820. The collection – now considered one of the most important works of poetry in all of English literature – includes such famous …
New Year’s Day marked the anniversary of the birth of Anglo-Irish author Maria Edgeworth (1767 or 1768-1849). Edgeworth was one of the most prolific and successful novelists of the early 19th century. Edgeworth’s earliest publications were children’s stories and treatises on education, but in 1800, she burst on the scene as a novelist with Castle …
In conjunction with the English Department symposium Illuminating the Word: the Devotional Tradition and the Future of Poetry, Special Collections is displaying the work of major poets working in the genre of religious poetry. Highlights include first editions of poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, and T.S. Eliot, as well as rare editions of …
Here are some of the newest additions of critical works to the Rowe Collection of William Wordsworth. And check out the new LibGuide for the Rowe Collection at http://guides.lib.byu.edu/speccoll/wordsworth. Rowan Boyson, Wordsworth and the Enlightenment Idea of Pleasure. Cambridge University Press, 2012. Laura Dabundo, The Marriage of Faith: Christianity in Jane Austen and William …
Part 1: Eden Phillpotts Sunday, Nov. 4 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of prolific English writer Eden Phillpotts. He wrote novels, plays, essays, short stories, children’s literature, and stage and radio plays. Phillpotts’ most famous books chronicle the county of Devon in England, particularly the Dartmoor region. Special Collections owns a very interesting …
Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, the son of Polish aristocrats. When Conrad was a child, his parents were sentenced to political exile in northwest Russia. Conrad was largely taught by his father, who introduced him to literature, but Conrad was orphaned at age 11. His maternal uncle helped him to enter …
The Library has recently finished cataloging a collection of nearly four hundred volumes of 19th century poetry which have been added to Special Collections’ Victorian Literature Collection. Most of these books are by minor Victorian poets whose work has never been reprinted, providing researchers with examples of forgotten literature in its original format. Around 15 …