I've been...

[pdr]

reorganising the Resources by era again and wonder if anyone has any new research books, websites, places to add to what we've got there. I would appreciate some resources/books you have on your reference shelf and use all the time, the general sort of information book across the ages about things like trade or travel, roads. Dorothy Hartley's Food in England is a good example as it covers a wide time span and social levels.

I'm about to add a whole lot of Victorian sources from my new novel's research pile. Would Doogs like to share his Roman ones? Donroc got any more Spanish ones? Any one found a fabulous source online for original documents? Julie found any good Regency ones?

Should I add JSTOR although you can only access it through a univeristy, college, research community or library with access?

[Mumut]

http://www.maisonstclaire.org/timeline/1351.html
This is the 100 Year's War timeline with a few useful references.
Also Froissart's Chronicles - fantastic even though biased:
http://www.maisonstclaire.org/timeline/1351.html

[Doogs]

One I've been making extensive use of lately has been "Hannibal's War" by J.F. Lazenby. It is very much a blow-by-blow account of the Second Punic War, as pieced together from Livy, Polybius, and the other ancient sources. The thing I like about Lazenby's work is that it provides a cohesive picture while at the same time confronting the inconsistencies, flawed assumptions, and outright inaccuracies of the ancient authors. A great starting point for a detailed historical interpretation of events and the motives behind them.

Also, "Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families" by Friedrich Munzer. Indispensable for gaining an understanding of the political undercurrents in the Roman Republic. A bit hard to come by, but I would argue it's absolutely essential for any story dealing with the Republican Senate.

For the Late Empire, "The Fall of the Roman Empire" by Peter Heather is a compelling read that overturns numerous assumptions of the Empire's final century and a half.

[pdr]

gentlemen, rep points delivered with my thanks. Without your contributions the Resources by Era would be very long on my areas of interest and short of anything else!

Any more researching writers with resources to share?

[julie thorpe]

hi pdr - iam currently reading Ian Kelly's Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Dandy (Hodder and Stoughton) and as far as I can see the research is thorough. However as a result I find myself wondering how many Regency heroines, having snared handsome husbands, found themselves subsequently infected with any one of a gruesome catalogue of venereal diseases. The early nineteenth century gentleman was not exactly known for abstinence, and if I had ever heard that poor, bankrupt Brummell died insane as a result of syphilis, I had forgotten it (or preferred not to know!).

[pdr]

I haven't been able to find much info about the incidence of infection from husband to wife in the 19th and early 20th C, but I remember the Beau's sad end.

I'd like to find more out for a short story I have simmering away!

[donroc]

For 17th cebtury Netherlands:

The Dutch Republic by Jonathan Israel
The Embarassment of Riches, by Simon Schama
Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama

[c.e.lawson]

I came across a wonderful book during researching my American Civil War Gettysburg short story. This is a thoroughly riveting, detailed, vivid account of the struggles of caring for the wounded at Gettysburg.

Grappling with Death: The Union Second Corps Hospital at Gettysburg by
Roland R. Maust

http://www.morningsidebooks.com/cgi/bookshop/shelf.cgi?cat=1&book=1258

Although I plan to devour this book as soon as I'm done writing my Sparta story so I've not yet ordered it, I was lucky enough to come across an on-line chapter of it (see link below) which was enough to help me with my short story.

http://www.gdg.org/Research/Authored%20Items/maust.html

Here is a great site which helped me research the weapons for my Gettysburg story.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/soldierlife/webguns.htm

Here's another site for weapons:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/weapons.htm

More weapons/tactics stuff:

http://www.gdg.org/Research/Other%20Documents/Overview/prologue.htm

Here's some more Civil War medicine info:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/civilwarmedicineintro.htm

I've got more, but have to run off now and do some errands.

Thanks for doing this, pdr.

c.e.

[tehuti88]

*meekly pokes head in*

I'm really not sure if these are specific enough, or if they're too specific, or not. I'm afraid I haven't the time to sift through and categorize different parts of the sites. :o But I thought I'd post them if you're interested in including them. If not, that's fine. A lot of these are sites where I've obtained antiquated texts and information on the subjects I like to write about.

My primary focus is on the Great Lakes/Old Northwest region, early European (primarily French) exploration of Canada/US and contact with the native tribes, the fur trade, Pontiac's rebellion, the Jesuits, Algonquin and Iroquoian tribes, things such as that. These sites offer information on such topics. Some of the sites, such as Archive.org, offer broader information on other topics, but there are lots of historic/antiquated texts should one search for them. My apologies if you already have some of these links.

University of Michigan Digital Texts Library: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx/ This includes such collections as: Making Of America ("primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction," including the subjects education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science/technology); Lincoln Materials; Nineteenth Century American Publishing (books and journals published in the US in the 19th century, primarily from 1850-1875); DLPS Text Collections; and more.

Cornell University Library's version of Making of America (might be the same as the above version): http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/

Online Collections at the Wisconsin Historical Society: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/collections.asp This includes access to newspaper articles, images, the "Wisconsin Magazine Of History," the online Wisconsin Historical Collections, etc.

Indian Country Wisconsin: http://www.mpm.edu/wirp/ Emphasis on "kindergarten through grade 12 instruction in culture, history, sovereignty, and treaty rights of Wisconsin Indian tribes."

First Nations tribal histories and information: http://www.dickshovel.com/ In particular http://www.dickshovel.com/up.html (though still in progress; most of the information available pertains to Northeast tribes).

Internet Archive Americana Libraries: http://www.archive.org/details/americana

Internet Archive Canadian Libraries: http://www.archive.org/details/toronto

Early Canadiana Online: http://www.canadiana.org/eco.php (also available in French) Featuring "works published from the time of the first European settlers up to the early 20th Century."

Library & Archives of Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/index-e.html "Canada's national collection of books, historical documents, government records, photos, films, maps, music...and more."

Canada's Digital Collections alphabetical index: http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/E/Alphabet.asp

Ohio Historical Society: http://www.ohiohistory.org/ Includes access to the "Ohio History" magazine online.

Canada History: http://www.canadahistory.com/

White Oak Society of Deer River, Minnesota: http://www.whiteoak.org/index.shtml This is "a non-profit organization providing living history interpretations of the fur trade era within the Great Lakes region."

The Champlain Society: http://www.champlainsociety.ca/ Featuring "four centuries of adventure, travel, social change, economic growth, and nation building."

The Perseus Digital Library: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ Features a section on the Upper Midwest.

Northwestern University Library's Digital Library Collections: http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/

Our Roots Canadian history: http://www.ourroots.ca/e/index.aspx

1st-Hand-History.org: http://www.1st-hand-history.org/index.htm Featuring "Written accounts from the 1700s and 1800s."

The "Jesuit Relations" online: http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/ Filled with much information about early French contact with native tribes and such.



Searching Google Books using the "Full text" only option also brings up plenty of good results on these and other historical topics.

*meekly bows out*

[pdr]

for those. I'll rearrange again and include most of these in an early North American section.

[tehuti88]

I'm really glad I could offer something. :)

It's been bugging me all night! One topic/name I forgot to apply to my listing was New France, which encompasses many of the topics I listed above and is more general (the region and time period most of the links refer to). I don't mind if you use that or not, I just wanted to mention it so it would stop bothering me! :o