Discovering Literature

Discovering Literature brings to life the social, political and cultural context in which key works of literature were written. Enjoy digitised treasures from our collection, newly commissioned articles, short documentary films and teachers’ notes.

20th century

Explore key works of 20th-century literature

Romantics and Victorians

Explore literary treasures from the Romantic and Victorian periods

Restoration and 18th century

Explore key works of Restoration and 18th-century literature

Shakespeare and Renaissance writers

Explore Shakespeare and Renaissance writers in context

Medieval

Explore literary treasures from the medieval period

Discovering Literature has been supported since its inception by Dr Naim Dangoor CBE, Dangoor Education.

The project was also generously supported by the British Library Trust and the British Library Patrons.

Further development of the project was supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation; Evalyn Lee; Peter Bacon; Mark Pigott KBE, KStJ; The American Trust for the British Library; The John S Cohen Foundation; Andor Charitable Trust; The Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust; Luci Baines Johnson; Ian Turpin; The Friends of the British Library.