News and Views
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Published Date
- August 12, 2026
Wilfred Owen, Mabel Rayner, and a solar eclipse
In our new blog, Dr Rhi Smith reveals the story of Wilfred Owen and Mabel Rayner’s chance meeting during a solar eclipse and the impact of each on the life of the other.
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Published Date
- June 30, 2026
A Century of ‘Town and Gown’
The University History Collection (UHC) The UHC contains the records of the University’s evolution from its origins in the late 19th…
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Published Date
- April 27, 2026
The immortal legacy of James Joyce
A review of the University of Reading Special Collection’s exhibition James Joyce: Enigmas and Puzzles, which ran from October 2025 to February 2026, by Jared Geraghty, undergraduate in Art.
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Published Date
- March 24, 2026
Finding primary sources to study the transatlantic slave trade
What is a subject explorer for? Subject explorers support students by suggesting primary sources as jumping off points for their dissertation research. The…
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Published Date
- March 9, 2026
Visualising class, disability, and race on the Victorian stage
This post introduces, via sheet music covers, a few more real individuals whose stories can be used to explore histories of marginalised people. With only 800 of the covers catalogued so far, there are sure to be countless stories still waiting to be rediscovered.
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Published Date
- February 23, 2026
Challenging our view of rigid Victorian gender boundaries through music covers
In the first of two blog posts showcasing the research potential of our Spellman Collection of Victorian music covers, we…
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Published Date
- February 13, 2026
Mills & Boon: The Surprise Archive
Having long been a lover of a good romance novel, it was a dream come true to be granted permission…
