Novels: finding literary reviews and criticism

Reviews of books using current and historic sources, online and in print.

Introduction

When looking for reviews, consider what you are looking for: are you looking for reviews of a particular work or all the works of a particular author? Do you want biographical information or only reviews? Do you want books from a particular era or literary movement or are you interested in a specific topic?

Have a look at the different sections in this guide to find what best suits your search.

Gale literary databases

Gale provides a range of excellent literary databases that include reviews from various periods for a vast range of authors. These items were originally in print ( Nineteenth-century literature criticism, Twentieth-century literary criticism, Contemporary literary criticism) and ran to many 100s of volumes. Some items may be missing from the online version that are available in these print versions.

Literature criticism online and Something about the author online

Includes online versions of Dictionary of literary biography complete, Literature criticism, and Something about the author.

Literature Criticism Online

Extensive compilation of literary commentary available, including Children's literature review; Classical & medieval literature criticism; Contemporary literary criticism; Drama criticism; Literature criticism from 1400 to 1800; Nineteenth-century literature criticism; Poetry criticism; Shakespearean criticism and Twentieth-century literary criticism

Literature Resource Center

Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world, including Contemporary Authors and the Scribner Writers Series and Twayne's World, U.S., and English Authors Series.

Catalogue

The more famous the author, the more likely it is that you will find books or articles written about his or her work. For example, the library has many books on the works, characters and themes of James Joyce, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

Search the library catalogue for these books, rather than an online database: go to the catalogue and type in the author's name and the term criticism.

For criticism of a specific work, enter  the book title, the author's surname and the term 'criticism'. For example: hard times dickens criticism

If the author has not written a large number of works, it may be enough to search by the author's name or the title of the book.

Any book titles you find on the catalogue should have subject headings. Click on these to find similar books. 

You can also try searching the author's name or title of a book by using the drop-down menus below the search box.

If you are searching for literature of a particular period or type, search using the keywords of your topic: For instance 1930s literature or experimental fiction.

If the author is not well known, try searching the online databases to find articles. Most authors do not have entire books devoted to their works or life. It may be difficult to find material on living authors who are not well-known and have not published a biography. If the online databases listed in this guide do not have information, then newspapers may have articles.

Online

Oxford Reference On-line Premium Literature Resources

On-line collection of Oxford University Press literary encyclopedias - includes broad analysis of selected author's work and biographical information.

Blackwell Reference Online - Literature

From the list, choose the 'Literature' option. This database includes a collection of substantial guides to different aspects, types and periods of literature.

George Eliot, great nineteenth century English novelist

Engraving of George Eliot from George Eliot’s life as related in her letters and journals J.W. Cross. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood, 1885