Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Series
  3. Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies

This series provides a high-quality selection of early printings of literary works, textual editions, anthologies and literary criticism which are of lasting scholarly interest. Ranging from Old English to Shakespeare to early twentieth-century work from around the world, these books offer a valuable resource for scholars in reception history, textual editing and literary studies.

Refine search

Refine search

Content type:
Publication date:
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

451 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies

Page 8 of 23

Memoirs, Journal, and Correspondence of Thomas Moore
  • Volume 6
  • Thomas Moore
  • Edited by John Russell
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1854
  • Throughout his professional life, the poet Thomas Moore (1779–1852) was variously celebrated and vilified for both his verse and his politics. Born in Dublin, he remained an ardent Irish patriot until his death. This eight-volume collection of Moore's memoirs, diaries and letters, edited by his friend Lord John Russell (1792–1878) and first published between 1853 and 1856, provides rare insights into a man whose genius was applauded by the Morning Chronicle as 'embracing almost all sides of imaginative literature, of criticism and philosophy'. Volume 6 contains Moore's diary for the period 1829–33, during which time he finally published Letters and Journals of Lord Byron (1830) and the book that won him respect as a leading Irish patriot, The Life and Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1831).

Letters to and from the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
  • To Which Are Added Some Poems Never before Printed
  • Volume 2
  • Samuel Johnson
  • Edited by Hester Lynch Piozzi
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    06 June 2013
    First published in:
    1788
  • One of the most celebrated individuals of English literature, Samuel Johnson (1709–84) was a defining figure of his age. In addition to his celebrated labours as a lexicographer, Johnson distinguished himself as a poet, essayist, critic, biographer and editor. The writer and society hostess Hester Lynch Piozzi (1741–1821) was an unconventional woman of great intellectual vivacity. She became a close friend of Johnson, whom she met through her first husband, the brewer Henry Thrale, whose ailing business Johnson did much to support. As well as writing essays, poetry, memoirs and travel diaries, she was one of the first women to produce works on philology and history. First published in 1788 - two years after her groundbreaking Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, which anticipated Boswell's biography - these letters offer a captivating glimpse into their daily lives and concerns. Volume 2 covers the period 1777 to 1784.

The Private Correspondence of David Garrick with the Most Celebrated Persons of his Time
  • Now First Published from the Originals, and Illustrated with Notes, and a New Biographical Memoir of Garrick
  • Volume 2
  • David Garrick
  • Edited by James Boaden
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    05 September 2013
  • David Garrick (1717–79) is synonymous with the golden age of English theatre. Widely acclaimed as an actor, he went on to become a shrewd theatre manager at Drury Lane. His years in charge of the Theatre Royal ensured its dramatic ascendancy and burnished his own considerable celebrity. These letters, first published in 1831, reveal Garrick's gregarious nature and shed light on his many friendships with leading ladies, fellow actors, contemporary playwrights, and members of high society. His love of Shakespeare's work is also evident, highlighting Garrick's pivotal role in ensuring the plays became established in the national consciousness. This two-volume collection was edited by James Boaden (1762–1839), who published several theatrical biographies (also reissued in this series). Volume 2 contains letters from the final years of Garrick's life, notably his correspondence in French with influential figures in Parisian theatre.

Letters Written between the Years 1784 and 1807
  • Volume 4
  • Anna Seward
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1811
  • The literary career of Anna Seward (1742–1809) had many frustrations. Erasmus Darwin once printed her poetry under his own name. Horace Walpole accused her of having 'no imagination'. And despite her evident talents, she was unable to find a patron willing to support a woman. Yet her letters reveal the breadth of her interests and the strength of her literary criticism. In addition to writing to newspapers and magazines, she counted many eminent figures among her correspondents, including James Boswell (who begged for a lock of her hair) and the young Walter Scott. This six-volume selection of her letters, edited by the publisher Archibald Constable (1774–1827), first appeared in 1811. Volume 4 covers the years 1794–7. Unfailingly pragmatic, Seward begins with a discussion of the French Revolution and the unlikelihood of a similar occurrence in England, and ends with a cheerful account of her efforts to regain her good health.

Memoirs of the Late Mrs Elizabeth Hamilton
  • With a Selection from her Correspondence, and Other Unpublished Writings
  • Volume 1
  • Elizabeth Benger
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    02 January 2014
  • The novelist and essayist Elizabeth Hamilton (1756?–1816) wrote with especial distinction on the subject of education. Inspired by her older brother, the orientalist Charles Hamilton, she pursued her literary ambitions, informing her work with a knowledge of history, philosophy and politics. Her ability to present complex ideas in an accessible manner did much to secure her an appreciative readership. Establishing her reputation with a satirical attack on radical thought, Memoirs of Modern Philosophers (1800), she enjoyed her greatest literary success with The Cottagers of Glenburnie (1808), a tale of moral reformation. Her Letters on the Elementary Principles of Education (1801) is also reissued in this series. The present work was first published in two volumes in 1818 by her friend and fellow novelist Elizabeth Benger (1775–1827). Volume 1 includes a biographical fragment by Hamilton, along with a selection of journal extracts and satirical essays.

The Life, and Posthumous Writings, of William Cowper, Esqr.
  • With an Introductory Letter to the Right Honourable Earl Cowper
  • Volume 1
  • William Hayley
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    21 November 2013
  • Successors such as Wordsworth and Coleridge admired yet overshadowed William Cowper (1731–1800). Troubled by mental instability, he retreated from both the legal profession and the woman he had hoped to marry, seeking out a quiet existence in the country. In spite of his struggles, he made a translation of Homer's Iliad, produced a considerable body of poetry, and maintained many epistolary contacts. This four-volume biography, compiled by his friend and fellow poet William Hayley (1745–1820), appeared between 1803 and 1806, bringing together selected letters and unpublished poems to illuminate Cowper's personal and literary life. Featuring a frontispiece portrait engraved by William Blake, Volume 1 (1803) contains Hayley's narrative of Cowper's life, interspersed with his letters. Warm-hearted and engaging, the letters also reflect the debilitating changes of his mood and the beginnings of his troubled faith. They date from 1765, just after his first nervous collapse, to 1791.

Letters Written between the Years 1784 and 1807
  • Volume 2
  • Anna Seward
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1811
  • The literary career of Anna Seward (1742–1809) had many frustrations. Erasmus Darwin once printed her poetry under his own name. Horace Walpole accused her of having 'no imagination'. And despite her evident talents, she was unable to find a patron willing to support a woman. Yet her letters reveal the breadth of her interests and the strength of her literary criticism. In addition to writing to newspapers and magazines, she counted many eminent figures among her correspondents, including James Boswell (who begged for a lock of her hair) and the young Walter Scott. This six-volume selection of her letters, edited by the publisher Archibald Constable (1774–1827), first appeared in 1811. Volume 2 covers the years 1788–90. It incorporates some of her staunchest defences of the older poets, such as Milton and Gray, against the onslaught of the new criticism, but also opens a touching window into her personal life away from the literary world.

An Autobiography
  • Anthony Trollope
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    13 February 2014
  • One of the most celebrated and prolific authors of the Victorian era, Anthony Trollope (1815–82) requested that his autobiography be published posthumously. The two-volume work, first published in 1883 and reissued here in the second edition of that year, recounts his childhood, successful career at the Post Office, and multiple achievements as a writer. Well received by the critics of the time, the work reveals the incredible discipline that enabled Trollope to write forty-seven novels in the course of his career. Of particular interest to literary scholars, the reflections on his early life show how his unhappy childhood and his father's financial problems influenced his fiction. Volume 2 goes into greater detail on Trollope's writing technique, and includes his thoughts on fellow writers and literary criticism. Two of Trollope's non-fiction works, North America (1862) and Australia and New Zealand (1873), have also been reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

The Life, and Posthumous Writings, of William Cowper, Esqr.
  • With an Introductory Letter to the Right Honourable Earl Cowper
  • Volume 2
  • William Hayley
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    21 November 2013
  • Successors such as Wordsworth and Coleridge admired yet overshadowed William Cowper (1731–1800). Troubled by mental instability, he retreated from both the legal profession and the woman he had hoped to marry, seeking out a quiet existence in the country. In spite of his struggles, he made a translation of Homer's Iliad, produced a considerable body of poetry, and maintained many epistolary contacts. This four-volume biography, compiled by his friend and fellow poet William Hayley (1745–1820), appeared between 1803 and 1806, bringing together selected letters and unpublished poems to illuminate Cowper's personal and literary life. Volume 2 (1803) contains personal letters from the period 1791–4, accompanied by Hayley's biographical remarks. Also included are appendices of some of Cowper's original poems and translations from Latin and Greek, notably sections from Horace and Virgil.

Some Reminiscences
  • Volume 2
  • William Michael Rossetti
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    06 June 2013
    First published in:
    1906
  • William Michael Rossetti (1829–1919) made himself the diarist, chronicler and champion of one of the most creative Victorian families. This two-volume memoir of 1906 provides an unparalleled glimpse into the dynamics of the Rossettis, covering his own childhood and that of his siblings, the genesis of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and friendships with such outstanding figures as Morris, Burne-Jones, Swinburne and the Brownings. In fact, many of the members of the Victorian art and literary world make an appearance at some point in these volumes. But what is so engaging about the work is the way in which William Michael treats these personalities straightforwardly and unpretentiously. Especially fascinating are the observations that deal with intimate family details, his thoughts about brother Dante Gabriel and his attitude to sister Christina as her work developed. Though what he says is not always completely candid, his remarks remain uniquely informed, subtle and telling.

The Autobiography of Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury
  • With Introduction, Notes, Appendices, and a Continuation of the Life
  • Edward Herbert
  • Edited by Sidney L. Lee
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
  • Diplomat, philosopher and friend of John Donne and Ben Jonson, Edward Herbert (1582?–1648), first Baron Herbert of Cherbury, is best known for his philosophical treatise De veritate, examining the nature of truth. After Oxford and a period at court, he served as ambassador to France from 1619 to 1624. A reluctant Royalist, he surrendered the family seat, Montgomery Castle, to Parliament in 1644. His lively and amusing account of his adventures up to 1624 was first published by Horace Walpole in 1764 in an edition of only 200 copies. From the narrative we learn of Herbert's social triumphs in France and of his duels, affairs of the heart, views on education, and herbal remedies. Reissued here is the 1886 limited edition of 1,000 copies that was edited by the literary scholar Sidney Lee (1859–1926). Lee has completed Herbert's life story and offers an insightful introduction to the whole.

The Literary Life of the Late Thomas Pennant, Esq.
  • By Himself
  • Thomas Pennant
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    19 September 2013
  • The humorously self-styled 'late' Thomas Pennant (1726–98) published this short autobiographical survey in 1793. A prominent Welsh naturalist and antiquary, he was known more for his energy and meticulous methodology than for original scientific genius. Yet he helped popularise natural history with beautifully illustrated works such as his History of Quadrupeds, the third edition of which is also reissued in this series. Moreover, he is credited with preserving thorough records of antiquities that were later damaged or destroyed. Samuel Johnson, who toured Scotland after Pennant, praised him as 'the best traveller I ever read'. More than a mere travelogue, Pennant's Literary Life is full of delightful vignettes - his meeting with the 'wicked wit' Voltaire, his affection for his faithful servant and illustrator Moses Griffith, and his poetic critique of certain hypocritical clergy. The appendices contain several of Pennant's shorter pieces on diverse topics, from anthropology to politics.

The Life of Thomas Chatterton
  • With Criticisms on his Genius and Writings, and a Concise View of the Controversy Concerning Rowley's Poems
  • George Gregory
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
  • The poet and forger Thomas Chatterton (1752–70) is known today to have been the author of the Rowley poems, a series of compositions in medieval English. Chatterton claimed to have transcribed them from manuscripts written by a fifteenth-century monk, Thomas Rowley. After Chatterton's tragic early death, however, debate raged about the provenance of the poems. This biography, published in 1789, engages powerfully in that debate. Scholar and cleric George Gregory (1754–1808) makes every effort to defend Chatterton against the accusations of forgery, tackling each objection point by point, not least the question of why eighteenth-century syntax appears in the Rowley poems. Paired with Cottle and Southey's three-volume collection of Chatterton's work (also reissued in this series), this book attests to the growth of his influence and remains relevant to students and scholars of English literature.

The Works of Thomas Chatterton
  • Volume 1, Containing his Life, and Miscellaneous Poems
  • Thomas Chatterton
  • Edited by Joseph Cottle, Robert Southey, George Gregory
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
  • Thomas Chatterton (1752–70) was only seventeen when he died of arsenic poisoning. Among his family and friends he was known as a versifier with a fascination for medieval manuscripts, but none suspected the true scope of his work. At eleven, he was already writing poetry, and by the end of his life his love poems, eclogues and forged medieval pieces numbered in the hundreds. Chatterton is best known for the Rowley poems, which he claimed were transcribed from the work of a fifteenth-century monk. Although the precocious skill of his forgeries, once exposed, often went unrecognised by critics, Chatterton's legacy influenced the Romantics for decades after his death. This three-volume collection of his work, edited by Joseph Cottle and Robert Southey, first appeared in 1803. Volume 1 includes his earliest poetry, and a biography by George Gregory (also reissued separately in this series).

Milton
  • Walter Alexander Raleigh
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    22 August 2013
    First published in:
    1900
  • Ranking among the greatest of all English poets, John Milton (1608–74) was an influential thinker during a particularly volatile period in his nation's history. His supreme masterpiece Paradise Lost forms one of the pillars of English literature. The literary scholar and historian Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh (1861–1922) was educated at University College London and King's College, Cambridge. Following posts at Liverpool and Glasgow, he was appointed Professor of English Literature at Oxford University, where he also served as an adviser to the Clarendon Press. This work, first published in 1900, is based upon lectures he gave the previous year as Clark Lecturer in English Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge. Admired by the critic William Empson, it is a penetrating study of the great poet and contains a biographical sketch as well as lucid analyses of Milton's use of language and its significant influence.

Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Mrs Frances Sheridan
  • Mother of the Late Right Hon. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
  • Alicia Lefanu
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    22 August 2013
  • Frances Sheridan (1724–66) won acclaim in her day as both a playwright and novelist. Her most famous work, the sentimental novel Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph (1761), found favour with Samuel Johnson, while her comedy The Discovery (1763) was staged by David Garrick at Drury Lane. Her fame was later eclipsed by that of her son, the playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816). Written by Alicia Lefanu (1791–c.1844), her granddaughter, this 1824 publication reaffirms the significance of Frances Sheridan's own work as a writer. Recounting her successes and incorporating her own recollections, the book reveals a woman admired both for her literary output and for her character. This work also includes reflections on the life of her son, whose early writing was influenced by that of his mother. Thomas Moore's two-volume biography of Richard Brinsley Sheridan has also been reissued in this series.

Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving
  • Volume 1
  • Bram Stoker
  • Published online:
    05 September 2014
    Print publication:
    21 February 2013
    First published in:
    1906
  • The greatest actor of his day, Sir Henry Irving (1838–1905) thrilled audiences with his tragedy and melodrama, his Hamlet and Richard III, most famously at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Born John Henry Brodribb, he took the name Irving for his first professional stage appearance in 1856. A long and exhausting apprenticeship followed, during which he played some 700 roles in theatres up and down the country before establishing his reputation in 1871 in the psychological thriller The Bells. In 1878, he took over the Lyceum and here, with his business manager Bram Stoker (1847–1912) and actress Ellen Terry (rumoured to be his mistress), he became the theatrical icon of his age. This engaging two-volume tribute by Stoker, his closest friend, was first published in 1906. Volume 1 includes reminiscences of Irving's Shakespeare, performances of The Bells, Faust and Tennyson's plays, Ellen Terry's acting and his appearances in America.

Mrs Gaskell
  • Haunts, Homes, and Stories
  • Esther Alice Chadwick
  • Published online:
    05 September 2014
    Print publication:
    14 February 2013
    First published in:
    1910
  • Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–65) lost her mother at an early age and was sent to live with her aunt in Knutsford, a country town outside Manchester which is often thought to bear a notable resemblance to the fictional Cranford. In this engaging biography, Esther Alice Chadwick (1862–1929) shows how many historical facts of Gaskell's life influenced her novels and stories - from the character of her home town to the sudden disappearance of her brother in India. Originally published in 1910, this was the first full biography of the author; the revised edition of 1913 is reissued here. It includes additional research, illustrations, and excerpts from Gaskell's letters, which provide a touching glimpse into the life of a writer who often felt herself torn between her intellectual and domestic duties. Still a major source for modern biographies, Chadwick's book remains an authoritative source for scholars and students of English literature.

Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving
  • Volume 2
  • Bram Stoker
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    21 February 2013
    First published in:
    1906
  • The greatest actor of his day, Sir Henry Irving (1838–1905) thrilled audiences with his tragedy and melodrama, his Hamlet and Richard III, most famously at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Born John Henry Brodribb, he took the name Irving for his first professional stage appearance in 1856. A long and exhausting apprenticeship followed, during which he played some 700 roles in theatres up and down the country before establishing his reputation in 1871 in the psychological thriller The Bells. In 1878, he took over the Lyceum and here, with his business manager Bram Stoker (1847–1912) and actress Ellen Terry (rumoured to be his mistress), he became the theatrical icon of his age. This engaging two-volume tribute by Stoker, his closest friend, was first published in 1906. Volume 2 includes a fascinating account of Irving's acting techniques and his receipt of a knighthood - the first actor to be thus honoured.

Autobiography, Letters and Literary Remains of Mrs Piozzi (Thrale)
  • With Notes and an Introductory Account of her Life and Writings
  • Volume 2
  • Hester Lynch Piozzi
  • Edited by Abraham Hayward
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    06 May 2013
    First published in:
    1861
  • Highly educated and accustomed to intellectual society, the writer Hester Lynch Piozzi (1741–1821) became a close friend of Samuel Johnson through her first husband, the brewer Henry Thrale. Her second marriage, to the Italian musician Gabriel Mario Piozzi in 1784, estranged her from Johnson, but following his death she published her groundbreaking Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, anticipating Boswell's biography. In addition to publishing essays, memoirs, poetry and travel diaries, she was one of the first women to produce works on philology and history. Edited by the essayist Abraham Hayward (1801–84) and incorporating correspondence and other writings, this two-volume work offers a valuable insight into the life of an important woman of letters and how she was perceived by contemporaries and posterity. Reissued here is the enlarged second edition of 1861. Volume 2 presents her autobiographical writings together with marginalia, letters and poetry.

Page 8 of 23