AustLit

Over 500 discrete books and pamphlets were identified for verification and inclusion in the nineteenth-century travel writing data set. Each item in the dataset has been physically sighted by the research team, and digital images captured for offsite study. The title pages of all dataset items are included in each AustLit record, providing insight into how the books were framed as material objects. The Australian library holdings of each book are included in the AustLit record, providing the location of physical copies, which often bear significant inscriptions and / or dedications. While this is only a rough measure, it is indicative of the relative reach of these travel narratives in Australian libraries and their local readership.

Each record is annotated with an abstract that provides an overview of each book’s major themes and provides links to the writer’s biography and other literary works, if known.

While the dataset aims to be comprehensive, we would be delighted to hear of additional works or connections to other research projects for future collaboration.

Explore the dataset.

Since its inception, this dataset has been enhanced by the increasing digitisation of out-of-copyright books. Each item contains a hyperlink to its latest confirmed digitised form, if available, which enriches the availability of the data immeasurably. So too links to major biographical databases such as the Australian Dictionary of Biography are included.