January 17, 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of poet and novelist Anne Brontë. Anne, the youngest child in the Brontë family, was particularly close to her sister Emily, who was two years older. Anne was too young to attend the Cowan Bridge school where the eldest Brontë girls died (immortalized as Lowood …
If you’re a fan of 19th and early 20th century literature, you won’t want to miss Special Collections’ newest reading room exhibit! “A Century of Style: Historic Clothing and Classic Literature” pairs rare editions from the The L. Tom Perry Special Collections with original pieces from BYU’s Historic Clothing Collection, which is now housed in …
May 27 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of American writer and activist Julia Ward Howe. Howe is perhaps best remembered today as the author of “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” but during her lifetime, she was acclaimed as a poet, lecturer, abolitionist, and advocate for the rights of women. She helped to found …
The new Special Collections reference room exhibit, “Women of Devotion,” features early editions of works by European women writers. Between 1500 and 1800 religious study was an important part of literate women’s education and piety was a well-respected feminine attribute. Thus, many of the published works written by European women at this time were religious. …
Special Collections’ newest major exhibit, Welcome to Our Charity Bazaar, features an interesting subgenre of Victorian literature: poems, stories, and books produced for sale at fundraising fairs throughout the 19th century in Great Britain and the United States. Many famous authors of the period contributed pieces which were printed either as standalone items or anthologized …
Another prominent book of poetry which is having a major anniversary in 2017 is Edna St. Vincent Millay’s collection Renascence and Other Poems. Millay (1892-1950) was a popular lyric poet of the first half of the 20th century, and this was her first book. The title poem, “Renascence,” first appeared in 1912. Millay, aged 19, …
Next year will be the 150th anniversary of the beloved novel Little Women, and if you’ve been following film and television news, you may know that several different production companies are planning on adapting the book for the screen! Alcott’s novels are no stranger to film and television; you may be a fan of one …
For Women’s History month, today’s post features some of our newest literary acquisitions by women authors, across several genres, from Victorian sensation fiction to the how-to book. VICTORIAN NOVELS Harriet Rakes, The Marriage Contract. London, 1849. Call number: Victorian Collection PR 5205 .R68 M3 1849 Elizabeth Missing Sewell, Ivors, or The Two Cousins. London, 1856. …
If you’re a poetry fan, you’ll want to stop by Special Collections in March and April to view our new lobby exhibits! This month, we’re displaying “Songs and Flowers of the Wasatch,” a Woman’s History Month exhibit which features lyrics and poems by 19th century Utah women. And next month — National Poetry Month, of …
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 …