To find articles that critique, interpret, theorize, or provide background and context to Austen's work and life, use the MLA International Bibliography (MLAIB). Although not all articles indexed in it are available online, each article citation is accompanied by UC eLinks that will lead to any available online full text or to the call number of the printed journal or book the article is in, if the Library owns it.
Another online bibliography of articles, books, and book reviews about British and other English-Language literatures is the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL). Although there is considerable overlap with MLAIB, this is a British-based bibliography and typically indexes more journals and books by small publishers, so it is worth trying as well.
Jane Austen Information Page. Probably the best place to start for links to full texts of Austen's work and hundreds of useful resources like bibliographies, timelines, photographs, lists of sequels, jokes, poems and songs about Austen, etc.
Austen-L One of the more scholarly and oldest of the discussion lists about things Austenian.
NINES: Nineteenth Century Scholarship Online. Although NINES doesn't have a specific Austen section, it includes thousands of relevant links. Overall, NINES has almost 1 million peer-reviewed digital objects from 119 federated sites.
MORE TO COME
Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. Edited by David Scott Kastan. Oxford University Press, 2006. The article on Austen, by Mary Ann O'Farrell, covers her life, her world, the themes of marriage and attachment, and the novel of manners, and is followed by a selective bibliography. The articles on "Sensibility," "The Novel," and "Popular Romance" are also relevant to Austen.
The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. Edited by Frederick Burwick. Blackwell Publishing, 2012. The article on Austen is by Susan Allen Ford.
The Encyclopedia of the Novel. Edited by Peter Melville Logan. Blackwell Publishing, 2011. This somewhat advanced-level encyclopedia does not have articles on individual novelists or novels. Instead, it has articles on subgenres (e.g. Gothic Novel, Domestic Novel), historical periods, formal elements (e.g. Plot, Character), etc. Enter "Austen" in the search box to find references specifically to her, or select other articles for background reading.
A Companion to Jane Austen. Edited by Claudia L. Johnson and Clara Tuite. Wiley Blackwell, 2009. 42 essays from a distinguished team of literary scholars that cover such topics as Sexuality, Austen and Popular Culture, Austen and Performance, Austen and the Military, etc.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. This is one of the most revered reference books in the English language, dating to the 1880s, but now continually revised online. LINK CURRENTLY NOT WORKING; AM INVESTIGATING THE PROBLEM 7/17/12.
Full text of the chapter (by Harold Child) and bibliography about Austen from the original 18-volume Cambridge History of English and American Literature (1907-1921). Obviously, this source is "outdated" and may be of more interest about how Austen was perceived in the early 20th century than by how she is viewed today.
To find what books (printed or ebooks) Geisel Library has by or about Austen, use our catalog, Roger. Change the box that says Keyword to Author and type Austen, Jane. To find DVDs or videos of her works, first click on the words "Films and Videos" before typing.
For books about her, change the word in the first box from Keyword to General Subject before typing her name. Notice that after a listing of almost 100 general books about her, there are lists of books about specific topics, such as Characters, Criticism and Interpretation, Influence, Knowledge, Political and Social Views, and individual books by her.
For books about Austen's world, browse under these subjects in Roger:
Great Britain--History--1789-1820
Hampshire, England
Regency--England
Napoleonic Wars 1800-1815
Women Novelists, English--19th Century
Satire, English
Sex role in literature
For links to more in-depth resources on British literature in Austen's time, see the page for the Long Eighteenth Century, 1660-1836 in the Guide for English Literature Resources.
