English

Collection overview

The collection covers all aspects of English Studies, from the earliest origins to the present day, with a strong focus on English literature. The collection is particularly strong in the following areas:

The medieval period (c.450-1500)
The early modern period (c.1500-1700)
19th-mid-20th century
Post-colonial literatures in English
Critical theory and comparative literature

The book collection is also significantly enhanced by a rich periodicals collection with holdings dating back to the 17th century.

See our latest acquisitions

Collection location

The English collection is located on the 5th floor
All items available on open access will display the location ENGLISH, with the classmark prefix 3 eg ENGLISH 5th floor (3) YO H26LN 2001
Most periodicals are located on the periodicals open shelves (PS) on the 5th floor with recent issues in the Periodicals Room on the 4th floor. For more information on finding journals, see our journals resources page
Some items are held in the closed access stacks. These will display the location Stack Service. Please request at the Stack Service desk on the 4th floor
To locate individual titles use the online catalogue

Related collections

Area collections of Latin American Studies and United States Studies - literature holdings
Film and Media Studies collection (includes theatre studies)
Palaeography collection – manuscript facsimiles and works on English manuscript studies
Anthropology and Sociology collections – especially for gender studies and folklore
Special Collections – especially the Sterling Library of rare and first editions and the Durning-Lawrence Library, which is rich in literature of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods
Dictionaries and literary reference works in the Information Centre - 4th floor
The Library Archives include Literary archives and Theatre and drama manuscript resources. The archives catalogue includes a subject search facility.

Classmarks for English

All classmarks in this collection have a numerical prefix of 3, eg ENGLISH 5th floor (3) YO H26LN 2001.

YA	English language	YM	Romantic period
YB	English literature – general works	YN	Victorian
YC	Anglo-Saxon literature (450-1100)	YO	Edwardian
YD	Middle English literature	YP	1900-1960
YE	Chaucer and 15th century	YQ	1960-2000
YF	Early Tudor (1500-1558)	YR	2000-
YG	Elizabethan (1558-1600)	YS	Postcolonial literatures in English
YH	Shakespeare	YU	Comparative literature/Critical theory
YI	1600-1660	YW	Poetry and poetics
YJ	Restoration (1660-1700)	YX	Film and theatre studies
YK	1700-1745	YY	Written and rhetorical style
YL	1745-1789	ZDV	Children’s literature

For a more detailed explanation of classmarks see the Library's leaflet 'A guide to the classification scheme'.

Other libraries

For more information about English holdings in other academic libraries in the London area, please consult the M25 Consortium of Higher Education Libraries website: www.m25lib.ac.uk. For elsewhere in the UK, consult the Consortium of University and Research Libraries catalogue: www.copac.ac.uk.