Nineteenth Century Literary Society

Content

AM’s Nineteenth Century Literary Society: The John Murray Publishing Archive provides access to more than 1,400 primary source materials published by the John Murray Publishing Company, dating back to its founding in 1768 through the 19th century. Researchers will find here the historically significant literary works published by the company, such as the Quarterly Review and Jane Austen’s Emma, as well as advertisements, sales records, and documents tracing the history of works from conception to final product.

The collection also features the most complete selection of works by the English poet Lord Byron, including personal and published materials. Rare documents such as Austen's correspondence and the first completed edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species can be found here, too.

The archive is arranged into six themed collections: Business and Finance; Literature and Poetry; Politics, Society and Religion; Private and Domestic Life; the Sciences; and Travel and the World. Short introductions for each theme detail relevant documents and the significance of the theme within both the archive and the literary landscape of the 19th century.

Documents can be filtered by 30 key figures, including poet Byron, explorer David Livingstone, novelists Sir Walter Scott and Austen, writer and historian Washington Irving, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, archaeologist and art historian Austen Henry Layard, travel writer Isabella Bird and writer Lady Caroline Lamb.

The archive's editorial board is composed of scholars and academics who provide feedback on selections and interviews, essays, and other materials to inform the use of the content. Selections are made with guidance and help from staff from the National Library of Scotland and academic board members with expertise in areas such as book history, romantic literature, historical geography, exploration and scientific history.

Works are exclusive to the John Murray Archive at the National Library of Scotland, making it a unique literary resource; however, some materials have been excluded, including works that fall outside the scope of the collection, works that are openly accessible, items with copyright restrictions, and materials for which privacy and data protection are in question.

Usability

Featuring a basic search bar, quick links, and a menu of options, the archive's welcome page is easy to navigate and explore. Users can quickly find an introduction to the archive and its collections, explore documents and key figures, and access research tools. Meanwhile, the "quick links" menu provides one-click access to the "nature and scope" of the collection, a video introduction, a direct link to the Byron Papers, insight on the Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) software enabling a searchable text function, essays on the collection, and a series of overviews on the life cycle of selected works, such as Byron's Don Juan.

An advanced search option is also available, as well as a search directories section (also found under research tools). The three directories include keywords (a curated list of terms such as accounts, bookselling, fame and scandal), people (a list of figures arranged alphabetically by last name), and library collection (including correspondence by John Murray and the Byron Papers).

Advanced search allows users to conduct multiple, simultaneous queries; apply the word stemming option; and filter by date, theme, document type, and key figures. Users can also limit the results to "documents" or "secondary resources" and access a list of previous searches.

By default, search results are based on resources that contain all queried keywords. Results can be sorted by "title," "date range." "theme," "document type," or "key figures." Users can save searches to their archive or email results and limit results to HTR documents.

Researchers can also explore the archive via the "documents" section, which lets them browse by "theme," "key figures," or "document type" or access "list view," which lays out all the materials in the collection. When using the documents section, there is also the ability to refine by document type (advertisement, correspondence, diary, etc.), theme, and/or key figures.

Users can review a selected document by page thumbnails or use the document reader to navigate between pages. Users can also search inside a document, download images or chapters, and add pages to the personal lightbox. Each document is accompanied by a detailed record listing title, date, document type, theme, description, keywords, people, and more, as well as a list of chapters in the text. Citation infom1ation is also provided, along with the option to export citations to EndNote, RefWorks, or Zotero.

Pricing

Fees are determined by a range of factors that influence the size of potential user group, including but not limited to Carnegie Classification and full-time enrolment. Contact info@amdigital.co.uk for more information about the pricing for your institution.

Verdict

With access to the most complete collection of works by Lord Byron, and primary sources detailing the development of major 19th-century literary titles, scientific writings, and socio-political commentary, plus exclusive access to content from the National Library of Scotland's John Murray Archive (featuring material that covers more than two centuries of the publishing firm's history), this collection stands out from similar archives to provide a rare research opportunity that goes beyond literary studies to cover the history of the book, publishing as an industry, and the various social aspects associated with the period.

Gricel Dominguez is a Librarian at Florida Intonational University Library, Miami.

“Nineteenth Century Literary Society (NCLS) is the archival collection of the House of John Murray publishers, held by the National Library of Scotland,” wrote Marisa Scigliano for ccAdvisor. She added that NCLS “has 1,400 items representing almost 250,000 digitized images,” making it an excellent hub of primary sources, particularly those relating to the evolution of modern thought through science and exploration, the study of women authors of the 19th century, and even research on Americana, including both British works published in the US and texts by American writers such as Herman Melville and Washington Irving.

Well organized and complemented by extensive resources and discovery tools, NCLS offers clear options to navigate these sources. For instance, “clicking on the three-bar menu under the banner on the far left displays a drop down that lists all six sections,” which “feature materials that should ideally be explored before using the resource,” Scigliano elaborated. Notably, “the documents section shows the organization of material and provides easy browsing by theme, key figures, or document type” and “the research tools tab is rich with contextual information,” including “topical essays by the specialist editorial board members.” Search is available via three options: a default general search box in the middle of the homepage, or the advanced search tab, and the search directories tab at the top right-hand side of the page.

As Scigliano concluded, “immense thought and effort has been put into the selection, presentation, and description of materials in NCLS,” noting that “in addition to excellent structure, search options, and concise help throughout, the resource is buoyed by meaningful supporting documentation in the research tools through inclusion of specially commissioned essays by subject specialists,” making this an unrivalled resource. Summing Up: Essential. Graduate students and faculty.

This review is a summary of a longer review by Marisa Scigliano, Trent University, originally published in ccAdvisor.org. Copyright © 2020 by The Charleston Company.—Abstracted from, ccAdvisor