Learning Resources

Gale Unveils American Fiction Archive Addition to Primary Sources Collection

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 05/12/16

Gale has added a new archive, American Fiction, 1774-1920, to its Primary Sources collection.

Featuring more than 17,500 works of fiction, including many that have never been available online, the new archive includes thousands of digital resources for students such as novels, short stories, sketches, travel accounts and romances, covering topics related to socioeconomics, politics and religion in American history.

"American Fiction, 1774-1920 encompasses prose fiction from the American Revolution to World War I, and includes works from well-known authors such as Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe and James Fenimore Cooper, as well as contributions from more obscure writers," according to a news release. "This collection is based on authoritative bibliographies including Lyle H. Wright's 'American Fiction: A Contribution Toward a Bibliography,' widely considered the most comprehensive bibliography of American adult prose fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, and Geoffrey D. Smith's 'American Fiction, 1901-1925: A Bibliography,' which comprises nearly three-quarters of all adult fiction published in the United States during this time period."

The Gale Primary Sources program features tools for search visualization and graphing and allows collections to be cross-searched with other digital archives from the company. All resources are fully indexed, feature full-text searchability and include metadata for text and data mining and other digital humanities research.

"One of the things that drew me to Gale was its unparalleled collection of literary content," said Paul Gazzolo, senior vice president and general manager for Gale, in a prepared statement. "Scholars delving into American literature will appreciate this suite, as well as researchers across all disciplines looking to answer questions about American history, culture and more. As an English major in college, I wish that I had access to such powerful research tools while working on my thesis."