Frequently Asked Questions
How to Use Chartist Fiction
What can I find on Chartist Fiction?
The website houses bibliographic records of fiction and fiction reviews (as well select drama reviews) found in Chartist periodicals.
What kind of search terms can I use?
Each entry includes the categories "Subject", "Creator", "Source", "Date", and "Coverage". You can enter any key words related to these in order to search.
Subject: This entry includes the form (Short Story, Novel, Review, Drama) as well as some common genres of Chartist fiction (Historical romance, Adventure, Social Problem, Sketch, Satire, Fable / Parable). Under the term "criticism," we have catalogued literary biographies or more general essays about literature.
Creator: Entries include the author and sometimes a translator. Most texts in Chartist newspapers were unattributed, but if it is a review the creator of the reviewed material will be in the title entry.
Source: If the entry was taken from another newspaper or journal, it will be indicated in the source.
Date: Serialized fiction will have multiple dates.
Coverage: This categories includes the geographic setting of the entry (Ireland, India, England, France, United States, etc.--use "international" to see all fiction set outside Britain) and the time period (designated either "contemporary" or "historical").
How do I find fiction or reviews published in the same journal?
The browse collections page lists all journals catalogued by the site (you can view this list alphabetically by clicking "sort by title"). Clicking on individual collections will take you to a page with information about the periodical and a list of items in the collection.
Note: to view items in a collection alphabetically by title, click on "view all items" at the bottom of the collections page and select "sort by title."
How do I read the stories or reviews?
Some entries have accompanying images (both full and partial), while others do not.
If you want to view an image, simply click on it to expand the image. You might have to zoom in to see more clearly if it's a larger image (Command key and + on Macs and Ctrl key and + on a PC).
Where can I find the stories and reviews listed on this site?
Some Chartist periodicals are available through digital resources; others only at select libraries. The collections page for each periodical lists certain locations where they can be found.
Is the site comprehensive?
We have indexed the complete run of the newspapers and journals in the database (except in a few instances indicated on collections pages). One category, "literary biography," includes only a select number of the periodicals' offerings. We include a sample of these biographies, of both literary and historical figures, to illustrate the close relationship between the genres of historical romance and literary biography in the Chartist press.
Other categories should be complete, but we welcome correspondence if users discover items we have missed.
Where can I learn more about the periodicals?
Our collection pages, The Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism, The Warwick Guide to British Labour Periodicals. Papers for the People (Merlin 2005) provides more in-depth studies of periodicals used in this site as do many of the sources listed on the resources page.
How do I use the Chartist Timeline?
To navigate the Chartist Timeline, simply click on the entry you're looking at. You can also navigate with your arrow keys. Entries are split into three categories: Chartist Events, Literary Events, and Chartist Print.
What is the copyright status for images on the site?
All nineteenth-century periodicals are in the public domain. Our educational and non-commercial site has abided by fair-use guidelines.