Nineteenth-century British travel literature

Bibliographies are useful starting points for locating foundational texts and identifying important authors in specific area studies. The following bibliographies provide information specific to nineteenth-century British travel literature as well as broader areas of literary studies.


Bethell, Leslie. Brazil by British and Irish Authors. Oxford: Centre for Brazilian Studies, University of Oxford, 2003. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - F2511 .B48 2003]

Divided into three sections—1500-1800, 1808-1945, and 1945-c. 2000—this bibliography is an annotated guide to British and Irish encounters with Brazil. Works written during the nineteenth century can be located by browsing the appropriate time period. Additionally, the volume includes indexes to both authors and places.


Gunn, Drewey Wayne. Mexico in American and British Letters: A Bibliography of Fiction and Travel Books, Citing Original Editions. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1974. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - Z1225 .G976]

This bibliography serves as a guide to bibliographies, fiction, and travel books on Mexico by American and British individuals. The "Checklist of American and British Travel Books, Memoirs, and Other Personal Observations about Mexico (1569-1972)" takes up the second half of the book. Although the volume has a Short Title Index, it lacks any index to the origin and publication date of the included works. As such, users must browse through the bibliography to identify relevant titles.


Marcuse, Michael J., ed. A Reference Guide for English Studies. Berkeley; Los Angeles; Oxford: U of California P, 1990. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Reference - PR56 .M37 1990]

This guide contains annotations for reference resources in all areas of English studies. Organized into topical sections, this volume also includes an Index of Authors, Compilers, Contributors, and Editors; an Index of Titles, and an Index of Subjects and Authors-as-Subjects. Reference works on travel literature are indexed under "Travel, travelers, and travel literature" in the Index of Subjects and Authors-as-Subjects.


Pine-Coffin, R.S. Bibliography of British and American Travel in Italy to 1860. Firenze: L.S. Olschki, 1974. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - Z2356 .P649]

Organized chronologically, this bibliography first hand accounts of Italy by both British and American travelers. The book is divided into two sections, one covering British works and the other covering American works. Within each section, individual works arranged chronologically. To identify relevant works, browse through the British works written between 1800 and 1899.


Ritchie, John. List of the Books in the English Language on Travel, Exploration, and Mountaineering, Published within the Year Ending August Thirty-First, 1897. Boston: Boston Scientific Society, 1897. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - Q11 .B8 no.2]

This brief bibliography is a subsection of a larger bibliography that included 255 travel and guidebooks and 150 atlases and technical works. This selection includes the more "popular" titles with brief annotations. The countries of origin for the works' authors are not indicated.


Robinson, Jane. Wayward Women: A Guide to Women Travellers. Oxford; New York: Oxford UP, 2001. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - Z6011 .R65 2001]

Robinson's bibliography includes around 400 bio-bibliographic entries on women travelers throughout history. Each entry contains a brief biographical sketch as well as the bibliographic information for the first editions of travel literature. The bibliography is arranged alphabetically, and while most of the women included are British, users will need to browse through the entries to identify relevant citations. This volume is divided into thirteen sections and includes maps, a list of useful reference books, a geographical index, and an index of authors.


Sears, Minnie Earl, comp. Standard Catalog for Public Libraries; History and Travel Section; an Annotated List of 1900 Titles with a Full Analytical Index. New York: Wilson, 1929. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - Z6209 .W7]

Organized according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system, this bibliography is intended as a checklist for public libraries. The 1,900 annotated entries are divided into two main sections: History and Description & Travel. Since the origins of the included are not indicated, searching the index for specific authors or browsing the Description & Travel section will be the best ways to identify nineteenth-century British travel writing.


Schattock, Joanne, ed. The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. Vol. 3: 1800-1900. 3rd ed. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Reference - Z2011 .N45 1999]

Superseding the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, this bibliography indexes the literature of the British Isles, including both primary and secondary sources. Travel literature titles from the 19th century are listed under the Travel heading and are further divided into the following subcategories: General, Africa, America, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, and Europe.


Watson, Lorna. The Errant Pen: Manuscript Journals from British Travellers to Italy. La Spezia: Agorà, 2000. [B-Wells - Research Collection - Stacks - DG421 ..W38 2000]

Watson's bibliography includes bibliographic references to over 700 manuscript journals written by 590 authors. Spanning the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries, these manuscripts provide accounts of British encounters with Italy. The volume is organized chronologically by century. As such, relevant manuscripts are listed in the "Nineteenth century manuscripts" section.


source: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=1001075