Research Guides: British Literature: Getting Started

Literature Resource Center

Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on nearly 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.

Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Full-text literary criticism and reviews and author biographical information on nearly 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.

Magill On Literature

Provides plot summaries, author biographies, book reviews and critical analyses of frequently studied works of literature.

Scroll down and click on the box next to Magill On Literature.

MagillOnLiterature (Discontinued) This link opens in a new window
The Libraries' subscription to this resource ended on 08/31/2023. For assistance in identifying an alternative resource(s), please email researchservices@mail.wvu.edu.

Biographical Resources

Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography This link opens in a new window
Provides information on the history of science through articles on the professional lives of scientists. All periods of science from classical antiquity to modern times are represented.

Encyclopedias / Dictionaries

CREDO Reference This link opens in a new window
A collection of nearly 500 encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books provides a good starting point for research.
Sage Knowledge This link opens in a new window
A collection of authoritative encyclopedias in the social sciences, including coverage for anthropology, criminology, environment, psychology, research methods, sociology, and women's studies.
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is a guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 500,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world.