Secondary Reading List on
Alicia Palmer
By Lindsey Karen Holland, May 1998
Biography
Barrow, J. 1992. The Post Office Project Book. London: Watts Books.
I used this book when finding out information about the British Post Office system for general reading, and any information concerning John Palmer.
Carnall, G. 1964. Robert Southey. Longmans.
I used this when reading around the life of Southey, who was a friend of John Palmer.
Clear, C. A. 1995. John Palmer, Mail Coach Pioneer. London: Blandford.
Contained vast amounts of information about Palmer. From Bath central library.
Curry, K. 1975. Southey. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Used for information about Southey.
Davison, P. 1996. Sheridan's Comedies. London: Dent.
Gathering information about Sheridan, another great friend of John Palmer.
The Dictionary of National Biography. Volumes: XI, XVIII, XV, XVI, XII, I.
I collected much of my information about Alicia's family from these volumes.
Fyson, N. 1992. A History of Britain's Post. Young Library.
General information about the Postal System.
Gibbs, L. Sheridan's Plays. London: Oxford Univ. Press.
Information about Sheridan.
Hartnoll, P. 1992. The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford: Oxford Univ Press.
Collecting information about the Bath theatres, and John 'Gentleman' Palmer.
Hartnoll, P. 1972. The Concise Companion to the Theatre. Omega Books.
Information about the Bath theatres, and John 'Gentleman' Palmer.
Simmons, J. 1945. Southey. London: Collins.
Information about Southey.
Biographical Dictionaries
Allibone, S.A. 1885. A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors Living and Deceased. 3 Vols. London: Lippencott.
This was useful when searching for information regarding Palmer.
Blain, Clements & Grundy. 1990. The Feminist Companion to Literature in English. Batsford.
The first book I looked in to find an entry about Palmer.
Crawford, A. 1983. The Europa Biographical Dictionary of British Women: Over 1000 Notable Women from Britain's Past. Gale Research.
Gathering further information about Palmer.
Kirk, J. 1891. A Supplement to Allibone's Critical Dictionary. 2 Vols. London: Lippencott.
Used to find information regarding Palmer.
Kunitz, Stanley, J. & H. Haycraft. 1982. British Authors of the Nineteenth Century. Wilson.
An impressive list of women authors.
Shattock, J. 1993. Oxford Guide to British Women Writers.
No entry for Alicia Palmer in this edition.
Women's Writing
These books were used to gather information on women's writing, and pervading attitudes towards it.
Adburgham, A. 1972. Women in Print, Writing Women and Women's Magazines from the Restoration to the Accession of Victoria. London: Allen & Unwin.
Interesting issues relating to women's writing in that period.
Alston, R. C. 1990. A Checklist of Women Writers, 1801-1900. London: British Library.
Useful for finding information on your chosen author. From the University of Sheffield Library.
Beasley, J. C. 1978. English Fiction, 1600-1800: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit: Gale Research.
Gives an overall picture of women's writing in that period. From the University of Sheffield Library.
Figes, E. 1982. Sex and Subterfuge: Women Novelists to 1850. Macmillan.
A very good book for general information on women's writing, and issues relating to sexuality.
MacCarthy, B. G. 1994. The Female Pen, Women Writers and Novelists 1621-1818. Cork: Cork Univ. Press.
An excellent book about women's writing, especially relating to the conditions that women were placed under, and what they could write about.
Moers, E. 1985. Literary Women. London: Oxford Univ. Press
Again a very good book on women's writing. especially relating to what topics/subjects they wrote novels on.
Poovey, Mary. 1984. The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
Introduces arguments surrounding what women were supposed to behave like, and what they really wrote about. Also gives a good general history of women's writing and its development.
Williams, M. 1984. Women in the English Novel. London: Macmillan.
Gives an overview of women's writing, and the attitudes towards it.
French History
These books were used to gather information on French history, and the people that were contained in The Husband and the Lover
Davidson, M. 1971. A Concise History of France. London: Cassell.
Gave an overview of French history.
Johnson, D. 1971. A Concise History of France. Thames & Hudson.
Gave an overview of French history.
Sauvigny, G. 1977. History of France. Chicago: Forum.
Gave an overview of the history of France.
Wolf, J. B. 1970. Louis XIV. Panther.
A very good book on Louis XIV, full of insights into his life.
Polish History
Reddaway, W, J. Penson and O. Halecki. 1950. The Cambridge History of Poland, From the Origins to Sobieski. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
A very thorough book on the history of Poland, and the reign of Sobieski. This book was used to gather information on Polish history.
English History
These books were used to gather information about the political and social welfare of England when Palmer was writing.
Briggs, Asa. 1994. A Social History of England. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Used for gathering information about British social history.
Grant, N. 1977. Hamlyn History of Britain. Dean.
Found this very useful when gathering information on the political history of Britain when Palmer was writing.
British Writing
These books were used to gather information about British literature, and writing, at the period when Palmer was writing The Husband and the Lover.
Block, A. 1961. The English Novel, 1740-1850. Dawson.
Useful when searching for the different styles of English writing of the time.
Kettle, A. et al. 1982. Points of View, The Nineteenth-Century Novel and its Legacy, 1982. Unit 26, The Open University.
Fairly good information source.
Location Register of English Literary Manuscripts and Letters. Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century. Vol 11.
Located in the REF. section on the Open Shelves, of The University of Sheffield Library.
Tompkins, J. M. S. 1969. The Popular Novel in England, 1770-1800. London: Methuen.
An excellent book charting the history of British writing from 1770-1800.
Historical Fiction
Cam, H. 1961. Historical Novels. Historical Association. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
A useful book charting the history and views on historical fiction.
Jackson, J.R. de. J. 1989. Historical Criticism and the Meaning of Texts. London: Routledge.
I didn't use this book very often as most passages didn't relate to my work.
Lukacs, G. 1962. The Historical Novel. London: Merlin.
An excellent book, very clear and concise.
Orel, H. 1995. The Historical Novel from Scott to Sabatini. Macmillam.
This book had a vast amount of information regarding Scott and his views.
Shaw, M. E. 1983. The Forms of Historical Fiction, Sir Walter Scott and His Successors. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press.
A very clear book detailing the history of historical fiction, and many passages on Scott.
The History of Periodicals
Mayo, R. D. 1962. The English Novel in The Magazines 1740-1815. Oxford Univ. Press.
Very useful for information on literary periodicals, esp. The Gentleman's Magazine. Used to gather information regarding the background and history on British literary periodicals.
General Sources
These are a collection of sources I used other than books.
Valentine, D. 1994. Museums and Galleries in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A Detailed Guide to Museums and Art Galleries Open to the General Public.
Details of historic places of interest in Bath.
Various pages on the internet. These included various Opac, Pages for University Libraries across the country - Oxford, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Sheffield University.
Bath Yellow Pages 1997 - Used to find any useful addresses in Bath.
Bath Phone Book 1997 - Used to find any useful addresses in Bath.
Mrs Denise Chantrey, Bath.
Mrs Chantrey helped me in the preliminary stages of my research, when finding out about the Palmer family. Most of our contact was over the telephone.
Lynn Aviyard, Go Enquiries Desk, Brotherton Library, Leeds University, LS2 WT, Tel: 0113 335513.
Ms Aviyard was the first person that I contacted when I decided to visit the library in Leeds. She was very helpful and found the reference for the periodicals that I wanted to study.
Records Office, Taunton, Somerset, Tel: 01823 337600.
Contacted to find Palmer's birth and death dates. Unable to help as birth records didn't start until 1837.
Bath Superintendent Registrar, 12 Charlotte Street, Tel: 01225 312032.
Contacted to find Palmer's birth and death dates. Unable to help as birth records didn't start until 1837.
National Gallery, Picture Library, Archive Section, Tel: 0171306 0055.
Contacted to try to find a picture of Palmer.
Holborn Museum, Bath, Tel: 01225 466669.
Contacted to try to find a picture of Palmer.
Whit Library, Tel: 0171873 2742/3.
Contacted to find a picture or any other information on Palmer.
Tourist Information, Abbey Chambers Centres, Bath, Tel: 01225 477101.
Contacted to find out information about Bath for my visit.
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 18 Queen Square, Bath, Tel: 01225 312084.
Contacted to find any information on Palmer, found it very difficult to contact the curate, so I gave up, but for a continued study, would be a very good starting point.
The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, Tel: 0171412 7111.
Contacted to find out about any letters that Palmer wrote. Unfortunately I was unable to visit London, due to time and money constraints, but the letters would be worth looking at. Prospective readers need a letter of recommendation.
British Museum, Great Russell Square, London, WC13 3DG, Tel: 0171636 1555.
Contacted to find any information on Palmer.
Central Statistical Office, Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AQ, Tel: 0171270 6363/6364.
Contacted to find any information on Palmer's birth or death date.
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London. Tel: 0181876 3444.
Contacted to find any information on Palmer's birth or death date.
Bath Central Library, The Podium, Bath.
Both visited and contacted. I initially contacted them to find any basic information on Palmer; they put me in contact with Mrs Chantrey.