Leslie Stephen, Dictionary of National Biography

Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Grace Moore (University of Otago)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1882 - 1891

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Biography (literary)

Resources

The first series of the Dictionary of National Biography was published in 63 volumes between January 1885 and June 1900. It is a landmark in publishing history and a monument to Victorian enterprise and intellectual life. It remains a valuable reference tool even with the advent of the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, a project that stands parallel to rather than in the place of the DNB. Leslie Stephen was the first editor. Despite his other, highly notable work, it is the DNB for which he is most often remembered, yet the immediate success of the project was limited and the work almost killed him. From the outset he had doubts about its scope and his own abilities, and his fears proved, …

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4664 words

Citation: Fenwick, Gillian. "Dictionary of National Biography". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=9021, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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