LibGuides: English and American Literature Subject Guide: Historical Text Databases: English Literature

Historical (Primary Text) Databases

These databases contain the searchable primary texts written in England from about the 8th Century to the latter part of the 15th Century. For medieval illustrative material, please consult the list of Additional Resources given in the Medieval Studies Research Guide.

Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus
This is not currently available due to extensive technical issues experienced by the vendor. We will be notified as soon as it is available again and apologize for the inconvenience.
Loeb Classical Library
Online access to the Loeb Library series of Greek and Latin texts, along with their English translations covering drama, poetry, literature, history, biography, travel, and philosophy.
Middle English Compendium
Includes information on Middle English lexicon and usage for the period 1100-1500 from the Middle English Dictionary, a Bibliography of Middle English prose and verse, and a Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse.

These databases present the searchable texts and images of the materials published in books, broadsides, pamphlets, proclamations, and newspapers printed in England from 1473 until 1800. The spellings of words, names, and phrases was not yet standardized and can vary -- a simple word such as our dog can be spelled dog, dogg, dogge, etc. -- so be certain to try alternative spellings in order to get the best results.

BBC Shakespeare Plays
37 Shakespeare plays, both comedies and dramas, remastered and presented as originally produced by the BBC.
British Library Newspapers
Includes London national newspapers, English regional papers, home country newspapers from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and titles in specialist areas such as Victorian radicalism and Chartism from 1732 to 1950.
Burney Newspapers Collection
Includes newspapers, pamphlets, and proclamations gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817).
Early English Books Online (Proquest)
Virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere. 1473-1700.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Full-text of over 150,000 books published during the 18th Century. Covers history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, science and more. 1701-1800.
Nichols Collection Newspapers
Full text access to 17th and 18th century English newspapers gathered by printer/collector John Nichols (1745-1826).

These databases present the searchable texts and images of the materials published in books, broadsides, magazines, pamphlets, proclamations, and newspapers printed in England from 1801 to the present. The spellings of words, names, and phrases can vary, so be certain to try alternatives.

Archives of Sexuality & Gender
Includes articles, manuscripts, images, and correspondence on social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities globally; sex and sexuality; and related issues. Library has access to all five collections: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 part I-II, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century, and International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture.
British Library Newspapers
Includes London national newspapers, English regional papers, home country newspapers from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and titles in specialist areas such as Victorian radicalism and Chartism from 1732 to 1950.
British Periodicals
Full text of hundreds of periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth.
Through June 30, 2023, unlimited users have access to the British Periodical Collection III & IV. Continued access beyond that date is not guaranteed and is subject to a purchase decision by the UConn Library.
Children's Literature & Culture (Gale)
Access photographs and texts on child welfare and reform, education, juvenile health, and juvenile crime and detention from the British Library and the Hine Collection (National Child Labor Committee).
Children's Literature and Culture (Adam Matthew)
Includes pamphlets, rare books, scores, and images in the area of children's literature from the 1820s-1920s.
Daily Mail, 1896-2016
Access to the Daily Mail newspaper from 1896 to 2016.

FictionMags Index

A freely available resource indexing hundreds of thousands of magazines published in English from the nineteenth-century to the present. There are indexes for author/illustrator, title, series, and issue-by-issue. There are also indexes for anthologies and collections reprinting the contents of these magazines, and original biographical data about the authors and illustrators are sometimes given. Note: this is not a full-text database though some of the magazines indexed are available online.

HathiTrust Digital Library
Search the full text of over 10 million volumes digitized primarily from research libraries covering all academic disciplines. View scanned pages of public domain and open access titles, or snippets from copyrighted material.
Illustrated London News
Full text with images from the worlds first illustrated news-magazine, London News Illustrated, from 1842-2003.
Mirror Historical Archive
Access to the Mirror, a British newspaper, from 1903 to 2000. Through June 30, 2025, unlimited users have access to this material. Continued access beyond that date is not guaranteed and is subject to a purchase decision by the UConn Library.
Nineteenth-Century British Pamphlets
Access to thousands of nineteenth-century British pamphlets that illuminate key political, social, technological, and environmental issues of their day.
Women: Transnational Networks
Access to manuscripts, articles, and photographs related to women and class during the 19th century including topics such as social reform, immigration, daily life, and religion.
Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals, Part I
Access to articles from several magazines published during the 19th century covering life in the UK. Our access includes Part 1 (lifestyle and women's magazines).
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Major American and international newspapers, including The Globe and Mail (1844-2019)*, The Guardian and the Observer (1791-2003)*, Irish Times and the Weekly Irish Times (1859-2021)*, The Scotsman (1817-1950), and the Times of India (1838-2010). A full list is given below.
Atlantic Constitution (1868-1984), Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010), Baltimore Sun (1837-1997), Boston Globe (1872-1991), Chicago Defender (1909-2010), Chicago Tribune (1849-2013), Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832-1953), Cleveland Call & Post (1934-2010), Detroit Free Press (1831-1999), The Guardian and the Observer (1791-2003), Hartford Courant (1764-1997), Irish Times and the Weekly Irish Times (1859-2021), Le Monde (1944-2000), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2010), Los Angeles Times (1881-1999), Louisville Defender (1951-2010), Michigan Chronicle (1939-2010), New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010), New York Times (1851-2019), New York Tribune / Herald Times (1841-1962), Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2010), Philadelphia Inquirer (1860-2001), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2010), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010), Times of India (1838-2010), Vermont Collection, Wall Street Journal (1889-2011), Washington Post (1877-2007)
Times Digital Archive 1785-2019
Full facsimile images of specific articles and complete pages of the Times of London. Includes all articles, advertisements and illustrations/photos. 1785 - 2012+. (Annual update.)
Times Literary Supplement
Access to the Times Literary Supplement from 1902 to 2019.
Times of India
Access to the full text of the Times of India newspaper from 1838-2010.
Women's Studies Archive: Issues and Identities
Women's Studies Archive: Issues and Identities contains material from eleven different source libraries, including the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, The National Women's History Project, and the New York Public Library. Includes manuscripts, ephemera, documents, newspapers, periodicals, journals, history collections, women’s literature covering historical, social, political, and professional aspects of women's lives during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

English and American Literature Subject Guide — Historical Text Databases: English Literature

Historical (Primary Text) Databases