Victorian Britain : an encyclopedia /

An extremely helpful introduction to a period when Britain and its people underwent major transformations in virtually all aspects of public and private life. This encyclopedia contains more than 400 entries covering persons, places, organizations, events, and ideas that influenced the Victorian age. The signed articles, written by authorities in the field, each contain brief bibliographies of resources for more in-depth study. Cross-references to persons or topics covered in other entries are indicated in boldface type. A chronology of events is included, as is a lengthy annotated bibliography of principal reference works in Victorian studies and a list of contributors. A detailed subject index provides easy access to the myriad topics covered. This encyclopedia compares most favorably to many of the historical dictionaries and encyclopedias already published on this era. It tends to favor coverage of literary and social issues, particularly women's concerns, and it provides much more detail on these topics than is presently available in such standard tools as the Oxford Companion to English Literature (5th ed., 1985) or Leonard W. Cowie's Dictionary of British Social History (London, 1973). It often adds depth to the information in its closest competitor, Frank Edward Huggett's extremely helpful Dictionary of British History, 1815-1973 (Oxford, 1974), and is immeasurably easier to use than some of the dated, basic bibliographies like Lionel Madden's How to Find Out About the Victorian Period (Oxford, 1970). It will not, however, supplant the longer essays of Richard D. Altick's Victorian People and Ideas: A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature (1973). This most welcome addition should prove very popular with undergraduates and researchers alike. -E. Patterson, Emory University

Some 900 signed articles, accompanied by brief bibliographies, discuss people, institutions, concepts, and events in Britain between 1837 and 1901. Larger subjects, such as Ireland, are treated in several short articles, but abundant cross-references and an index assist the reader's navigation. The index has two flaws: references are to the entire article in which a mention occurs, rather than to the specific page, and the page numbers themselves are printed on the inside corner, making them difficult to see. Intended as a ready reference, this volume will be most useful to students of Victorian literature and intellectual history. Recommended for college libraries.-- Mary Drake McFeely, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.