In 1994 Sheffield Hallam University acquired the English-language belles-lettres section of the CME (Corvey Microfiche Edition), containing more than 9,000 volumes, most of them from the period 1790-1840. The collection supported existing research strengths in the English Subject Group, in women's writing, Romantic poetry, Gothic literature, autobiography, and travel writing. A staged research programme was planned, under the aegis of the Cultural Research Institute.

Information technology was seen as an integral part of the plan, which will draw on the expertise of SHU's Communications and Information Resource Group.

In 1995 the Project was awarded two research posts under the Humanities Research Institutional Fellowships Scheme, jointly funded by HEFCE/British Academy, to undertake the first stage of research into women's writing of the Romantic period.