The Institute of English Studies hosts a two-day conference on the year (yes, year!) 1814, from 16-17 May 2014. Associate Research Fellow and Rare Books Librarian at Senate House Library, Dr Karen Attar, shares some of the material in the Library related to 1814.
‘Recently we noticed a two-day conference to be held in Senate House in mid-May on the cultural impact and significance of the year 1814 – the year in which Napoleon was defeated and Britain and Europe celebrated peace, and the year in which Jane Austen published Mansfield Park, among other events. The conference made us think about the variety of material in Senate House Library published in 1814. On the literary front, Senate House Library is fortunate to hold first editions of all the titles featuring in the conference: Mansfield Park; Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley; Fanny Burney’s Wanderer; Byron’s Corsair (and also his Lara); Wordsworth’s Excursion. These happen all to be in the Sterling Library, devoted to first and fine editions of English literature. We swept other named special collections for evidence of intellectual and historical activity as commemorated in print in that year’.
To continue reading the full post on the Senate House Library blog, click here.