English Websites

William Shakespeare
http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html

This is the most comprehensive website on William Shakespeare on the Internet. Created and maintained by Jeremy Hylton at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, this contains the electronic version of the 'Complete Works of Shakespeare'. A powerful search-engine enables the user to search all the material for selected words or phrases. There is also a chronological and alphabetical listing of the plays, a collection of the most popular Shakespearean quotations, and a detailed glossary. Another section deals with the most frequently asked questions by users. The discussion area is very popular with more than 8,000 people sending contributions since January, 1996. This often involves pleas for help with essay titles such as "Comic Female Monologues" and "Triumph and Tragedy in Shakespeare's Life". There is also a comprehensive list of other Shakespeare resources on the Internet. (KS3/4 16+ HR)

Discovering Dickens
http://www.west.net/~cybrary/Dickens

An interesting approach to the work of Charles Dickens that has been created by Lucy Davis of 'Schools of California Online'. The material has been produced to help students learn "more about the time and circumstances which influenced Dickens". Students have a choice of five different cases. Each case requires the student to visit several Internet sites that specialise in specific knowledge about Charles Dickens. Case One involves a look at the everyday life of Charles Dickens. Students visit two Internet sites 'Dickens' Home' and 'Dickens' House Museum' and are given assignments that involve them comparing their life with those of people living in 19th England. Case Three explores the links between Dicken's novels and his experiences of childhood poverty. During the investigation students visit sites that contain information on Dickens' early life, articles about his work, and extracts from his novels. (KS2/3/4 HR)

The Victorian Web
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landlow/victorian

The Victorian Web is the result of Brown University's Institute for Research in Information and Scholarship Intermedia Project. The Victorian Web is an interactive project and its leader, George Landow, Professor of English at Brown University, welcomes ideas and contributions. At the moment there are thirty British authors on the website. This includes Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson and Lord Tennyson. Each author has an overview page where the material is listed under the following headings: 'Biography', 'Works', 'Victorianism', 'Science', 'Literary Relations', 'Visual Arts', 'Themes', 'Setting', 'Image & Symbol', 'Characterization', 'Narration', 'Genre', 'Religion and Philosophy' and 'Related Websites'. These sections might include one page of information or a list of twenty or more pages. This site is a great research archive and fully deserves the many awards it has received. (KS3/4 16+ GA UE)

Charlotte Bronte
http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/victorian/cbron

Charlotte Bronte is one of the websites produced by George Landow and his team at Brown University. The Biographical section includes a 'A Brief Biography', 'Autobiographical Elements in Jane Eyre', 'Charlotte Bronte Chronology' and on a website in Japan, an 'E-text version of Elizabeth Gaskell's 'The Life of Charlotte Bronte'. The 'Political and Social Contexts of Jane Eyre' is particularly interesting with information on 'The Governess and Class Prejudice', 'Class Attitudes in Jane Eyre', 'Age Difference in Victorian Marriages', 'The Position of Middle Class Women' and 'Is Jane Eyre a Feminist Novel?' (KS3/4 UE)

19th Century British and Irish Authors
http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/UK-authors.html

This is a gateway site that lists all the known websites on 19th century British and Irish authors. The full list is over twenty pages long (it is constantly being updated). For regular visitors there is a 'What's New?' section. The authors are listed in chronological order. This is a good starting point for anyone carrying out research into 19th century writers. (KS4 GA UE)

Robert Louis Stevenson
http://www.unibg.it/rls/rls.htm

The Robert Louis Stevenson website is managed by Richard Dury at the University of Bergamo. The website receives considerable support from the Robery Louis Stevenson Society based in Australia and Edinburgh's Robert Louis Stephenson Club. Material is listed under the follwing headings: 'Life and Works', 'E-Texts', 'Images', 'Museums and Library Collections', 'Events', 'Bibliographies' and 'Links'. (KS3/4 UE)

Elizabeth Gaskell
http://lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Gaskell.html

Literary genuis is not always rewarded with good websites. Writers such as George Bernard Shaw and George Orwell have so far been virtually ignored by the Internet community, whereas other, less talented writers, have been well-served by their supporters. Elizabeth Gaskell is one of those writers who will obtain a growing readership thanks to the devoted care and attention of the Gaskell Society. The site provides links with electronic texts of her work. There are also copies of rare, 19th century illustrated versions of her work. Other linked websites include: 'Gaskell Portrait Gallery', 'Knutsford, Past and Present', 'Elizabeth Gaskell's Manchester' and 'Gaskell Studies and the Internet'. There is also detailed information about past editions of the Gaskell Society Journal and a free newsletter on the writer. (KS3/4 HR)

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
http://www.english.udel.edu/swilson/mws/mws.html

It is sometimes argued that compared to her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley has been largely ignored by the critics. However, this is not true of the Internet. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is a rich source of information on this very important writer. Created by Shanon Wilson at the University of Deleware, the site includes a seveneen page chronology of Mary Shelley's life, contemporary reviews of her novels, and information on other works of art influenced by Frankenstein. The site is constantly developing and future plans includes the addition of Shelley's letters and journals. Another major site is 'Mary Shelley and Frankenstein' (http://www.netaxs.com/ ~kwbridge/maryshel. html). The site attempts to show the different influences on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Sections include: 'Mary Wollstonecraft', 'William Godwin', 'Summer of 1816', 'Critique of Science', and 'Lord Byron'. (KS4 16+ UE)

Thomas Hardy
http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~mws/menu.html

Mark Simmon has created an attractive website to celebrate the work of Thomas Hardy. The site contains the usual sections dealing with electronic versions of Hardy's work, biographies and time-lines, academic articles, a bibliography and lists of related links. However, Mark Simmon also provides other interesting sections including a comprehensive photo gallery, a genealogy and film adaptions of Hardy's work. There is also a 'Maps & Travel' section where you can explore the places where the novels and poems are set, One of the best literary sites on the Internet. (KS4 16+ HR)

D. H. Lawrence
http://home.clara.net/rananim/lawrence

The Rananim Society is a D.H. Lawrence e-mail discussion group. Two of the members of this group from Ontario, Canada, have produced a site dedicated to the work of D. H. Lawrence. As well as producing original material, the Rananim Society have collected together all the sites on the Internet that relate to Lawrence and his work. One list includes 'Pilgrimages and Homages' and provides links with places where Lawrence lived. 'Eastwood and D.H. Lawrence' supplies information (text and photographs) on the four houses that Lawrence occupied in Eastwood. Special emphasis is placed on his birthplace, 8a Victoria Street, which is now maintained as a museum. From here there are also links with other related websites: 'Eastwood', 'Picture Gallery of Old Eastwood' and 'About Nottingham'. (KS4 GA UE)

T. S. Eliot
http://virtual.park.uga.edu/~232/eliot.taken.html

A very personal view of the work of T. S. Eliot. The writer, Bruce Bong, attempts to imiatate the style of his other literary hero, Raymond Chandler. This is unsuccessful but Bruce Bong does supply a list of websites that are useful to anybody studying the work of T.S. Eliot. The website provides links to T. S. Eliot discussion groups, articles and other sites that contain biographical details of the writer. Bruce Bong also includes examples of poems where the writers have attempted to parody Eliot's style. The website also directly links you to websites where you can print out Eliot's poems. (KS4 GA UE)

Channel 4: The English Programme
http://www.channel4.co.uk/schools/online_res.html

Channel 4 now provide free online resources that link with their Schools programmes called Net Notes. They are produced simultaneously with the programmes and can thus offer accurate and current information on the subject and its relevance to the curriculum. Net Notes also provide links to related websites. This includes: The English Programme: William Wordsworth (January, 98) and The English Programme: Science Fiction (January, 98). Channel 4 also plan to provide Online Guides that will supply supporting material for teachers and students. There are also plans to publish Information Sheets on the Internet to accompany programmes. Channel 4 Net Notes, Online Guides and Information Sheets may all be freely downloaded. (KS3/4 UE)

Merriam-Webster Online
http://www.m-w.com

Merriam-Webster is America's foremost publisher of language-related reference works. Several educational websites have direct links with the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This enables the student to check the meaning of words in the text. Merriam-Webster also have their own website where you can find authoritative information about the English language. The WWWebster Dictionary allows the user to look up a definition, pronunciation, etymology, spelling, or usage. The online dictionary includes the main A-Z listing of words as well as the Abbreviations, Foreign Words and Phrases, Biographical Names and Geographical Names sections. Merriam-Webster's edition of Roget's Thesaurus is also linked to this site. (KS2/3/4 UE)