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The British Library

Name: The British Library
Address: 96 Euston Road, London, NW12, GB
Telephone: +443303331144
Price range: £
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It’s all yours. Get a free British Library Reader Pass for study space and over 170 million items.

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest libraries. We hold over 13 million books, 920,000 journal and newspaper titles, 57 million patents and 3 million sound recordings. Open to everyone, the Library offers events, temporary exhibitions and a Treasures Gallery that displays over 200 items, including Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible and lyrics by The Beatles.

Operating as usual

24/12/2022

Every day our spaces are full of moments of joy with people making new discoveries. So whether you’re…

📗 the researcher tracking down forgotten histories in our Reading Rooms
💡 the designer sourcing creative ideas for their new collection
👪 or the families finding the spark for a lifelong love of reading

… thank you for supporting us and being a part of our community. Here’s to another year full of new ideas and discoveries.

Season’s greetings from all of us at the British Library.

23/12/2022

We’re disappearing off social media for a little break. Enjoy the festive season like the goose on this Christmassy coat of arms, and we’ll see you in 2023!

21/12/2022

With Christmas just around the corner and the spectacular Lindisfarne Gospels back on display in our Treasures gallery, curator Eleanor Jackson writes about its Chi-rho page. Find out why this feature of some medieval manuscripts is particularly Christmassy🎄 http://bit.ly/3V9dgC0

And you can discover more about the Lindisfarne Gospels with Eleanor in this episode of Collection in Focus 👉 http://bit.ly/3hObys1

📜 Cotton MS Nero D IV, f. 29r

20/12/2022

On the lookout for a last minute Christmas gift? Adopt a book from our list of much-loved classics, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

A thoughtful gift idea for book lovers, with an e-certificate sent straight to their inbox.

📗 https://support.bl.uk/Book/BookList

✏️Illustration by John Tenniel for Lewis Carroll’s The Nursery: Alice
📑Cup.410.g.74

19/12/2022

We're stepping out for some pudding this festive break 🍮

Check our seasonal opening times before you visit: https://bit.ly/3BLdaJS

19/12/2022

Happy ! A candle is lit each evening to celebrate the Jewish festival of lights. Other customs include eating doughnuts, giving gifts and playing a traditional spinning top game.

📜 Add 11639, f. 114r

Take a closer look: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_11639_f114r

16/12/2022

With the seasons changing we’re reminded of all the great literature about winter weather. Here’s one of our favourite poems on the subject. What are yours?

16/12/2022

Making our mark on what's left of the snow...

✏️ Alfred Leete
📑 The Sketch, 02 January 1907, page 374

15/12/2022

Ah Christmas... the time of man-eating cats, shoe-throwing and KFC. What’s your favourite festive tradition?

14/12/2022

How will you survive the evolution of technology? What can Leeds factory workers during the Industrial Revolution teach us about holidaying on a budget?

Visit our Living with Machines exhibition before it closes to discover the human stories behind the industrial age. Free at the Leeds City Museum until 8 January 👉https://bit.ly/3UTsSta

The Living with Machines research programme that has informed the exhibition is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC via UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Strategic Priorities Fund. This multidisciplinary collaboration is delivered by The Alan Turing Institute, the British Library and partner universities.

13/12/2022

Still undecided on what to get your loved ones? This year switch up your gifting with something unique, inspirational and sustainable. But, more importantly, something that lasts. And shopping with us has a lasting impact too. Every purchase from the British Library this Christmas helps open up a world of ideas and inspiration for everyone. So why not give the gift of…

…sensational stories with our Crime Classics Subscription
…learning with one of our courses
…lasting memories with a British Library membership
…discovery with an exhibition ticket
…making a difference with Adopt a Book

Visit 🔗https://bit.ly/3BwMKLR for more information.

12/12/2022

Applications to our International Library Leaders Programme are now open.

Have you ever wanted to go behind-the-scenes and see how we run one of the world’s largest libraries? If you’re a library and archive professional looking to develop your knowledge of the industry, apply to join our week-long intensive programme. This is a rare opportunity to learn how we fulfil our vision of opening up our collection for everyone, everywhere.

Apply to join us in July 2023 👉https://bit.ly/3Btn5Ud

12/12/2022

From the brilliant mind of fashion designer Yuhan Wang came these delicate hand-embroidered shoes and beaded purse, on display in our Chinese and British exhibition. The grapes on the shoes represent abundance in both Chinese and western cultures, and the peach, a long life.

Wang’s designs are inspired by traditional Chinese landscape paintings and connections between the east and the west. See these beautiful works for free and discover more stories from remarkable individuals – Chinese and British is open until April 2023: bl.uk/chinese-and-british

© Yuhan Wang

10/12/2022

Gliding (or falling) gracefully into the weekend ⛸️

📑 L 45/2847
📕 Fêtes galantes by Paul Verlaine
✏️ George Barbier

09/12/2022

This week for , we're sharing a conversation between Radha and Sharon who challenge the barriers to health and well-being services faced by people with disabilities.

Read our blog and a personal reflection from one of our Disability and Carer Support Network members on how Radha and Sharon have worked towards overcoming barriers – championing accessible exercise for all. 👉https://bit.ly/3HsTT3P

🎙️C1500/1730 Recorded for The Listening Project, 2018 © BBC
📸 Radha Nair-Roberts and Sharon Williams © BBC

08/12/2022

Between 1737 and 1968, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office censored all plays destined for the stage.

With that censorship abolished, its massive collection of play scripts is an invaluable resource for theatrical history.

Our Lord Chamberlain’s Plays collection holds scripts of all new plays performed in Britain from 1824 to 1968. One of these is At What a Price, a 1933 play by Black poet, broadcaster and activist Una Marson, exploring in*******al relationships and work power dynamics. It managed to slip through the Lord Chamberlain’s Office without censorship – watch our video to find out why 👇

Explore the digitised version of At What a Price here: http://bit.ly/3VGDDQV

Read its digitised reader’s report: https://bit.ly/3P7rjXv

And watch Leeds Playhouse perform At What a Price: https://bit.ly/3BiY8La

📜 Add MS 66878 D⁣
📜 LCP CORR 1933/12620⁣

07/12/2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Are you searching for last-minute shopping ideas? We’ve got you covered! From our book collections and Christmas essentials to our Alexander the Great exhibition range and Crime Classics subscription, we have all you need to tick everyone off your list.

The last order date for standard UK Christmas delivery is at noon on 16 December.

Our gift cards are the perfect solution if you don’t know what to get for someone or miss the Christmas delivery date — delivered directly to your inbox, ready to gift to your loved ones so they can choose their ideal present. 👉https://bit.ly/3XXajXX

06/12/2022

Do you want to know your future?

At the edge of the world, Alexander the Great came across a talking tree with two trunks. One foretold the end of his 14-year rule, and the other announced: ‘Death will come soon.’ Yikes! 😬

Our exhibition has a talking tree of its own, and we can guarantee it’s much more positive than Alexander’s!

Have your fortune told at Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth | Open until 19 February 2023 | £2 off when you book in advance | Members go free 🔗https://bit.ly/3FCr1Vv

05/12/2022

It’s panto season! These whimsical toys from our collection hark back to pantos past at the Theatre Royal on London’s Drury Lane. The theatre still stands today. Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Both novelties date from 1894. They’re a bit of fun with a purpose: they’re actually advertisements for a production of Dick Whittington from the 1894/1895 season. They’re drawn in quite different styles, but both depict the actress Ada Blanche in the leading role of Dick Whittington.

Victorian pantomimes included slapstick, male and female impersonation, topical songs and acrobatics. So, not all that different from nowadays.

Unusually for a panto, the origin of Dick Whittington lies in truth, not fairytale. The protagonist is named after Richard Whittington, who was Lord Mayor of London in the late 14th century.

In the panto version, he sets off to London with his clever cat, believing that the streets are paved with gold. They’re disappointed at first, but eventually their fortunes take a turn for the better…

Held at the Library, these little novelties suggest that part of this production’s appeal was the chance to see a glamorous actress in a ‘trouser role’ – a 19th-century innovation on the panto stage.

In these leading male roles, actresses in drag would show much more leg than they usually would in skirts. This proved popular with audiences.

Are you going to the panto this year? Let us know what you're looking forward to seeing 👇

And take a closer look at these spinning novelties at 🔗https://bit.ly/3OYfbId and 🔗https://bit.ly/3un7xxB.

📜 Shelfmark Evan 4029 and Evan 9045

02/12/2022

Our Chinese and British exhibition features many stories of migration. These folding books made by the women leading the Wai Yin Society in Manchester, alongside artist Julie Mosley, express how migration stories can evoke feelings of hope, loss and joy.

Drop in any time to our free exhibition, Chinese and British, and explore more stories from extraordinary individuals.

Find out more: https://bit.ly/3UxdiU8

© Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre, The University of Manchester Library

01/12/2022

Behold! We’re counting down the days until Christmas with a sparkling advent calendar made up of items from our Gold exhibition held at the Library earlier this year, supported by BullionVault. Today’s glittering manuscript dates from the sixth or seventh century.⁣
⁣
It’s a fragment from an illuminated Gospel Book, a copy of the gospels from the Christian New Testament of the Bible. The text is written on parchment, a substance carefully prepared from animal skin, which was painted entirely with gold.⁣
⁣
The fragment is known as the Golden Canon Tables. It’s probably of Eastern Mediterranean origin, perhaps from Constantinople. The gorgeous illumination gives a hint as to what the complete manuscript might have been like. ⁣
⁣
The fragment gives precious evidence of the level of artistic skill in Byzantium before the Iconoclastic period (726–842 CE), when many religious images were destroyed. ⁣
⁣
The tables are adorned with medallions which contain four portraits, three of which have halos. There may originally have been twelve portraits, representing the twelve apostles.
⁣
Canon tables were used to identify parallel passages between the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. When the Golden Canon Tables were acquired in 1785, they had been inserted into a 12th-century manuscript of the gospels.⁣
⁣
Take a closer look at this manuscript at 🔗http://bit.ly/3UoFiJs
⁣
📜 Shelfmark: Add MS 5111/1, ff.11r and 11v
⁣
Open a new window to our advent calendar each day at www.instagram.com/britishlibrary 📅

30/11/2022

The many faces of Alexander the Great.

As legend travelled across continents and centuries, European, Middle Eastern and Asian cultures have moulded Alexander into the fictional hero they wanted him to be and the depictions of his appearance have changed with them.

What do you think Alexander looked like?

Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth is open until 19 February 2023 | £2 off when you book in advance | Members go free

👉http://bit.ly/3EQ4brt

29/11/2022

Over the past year, our dedicated conservation specialists have cared for over 8,000 historic works, preserving priceless manuscripts and early editions for future generations to enjoy.

Still, many more books need our expert care and attention.

This , help us care for our collection by adopting a book from our list of classic titles, from Little Women to A Christmas Carol. You’ll receive a keepsake card and an e-certificate, making it a fantastic gift for book lovers.

Browse our titles 👉http://bit.ly/3ign7rT

28/11/2022

Can you name the characters pictured here? These whimsical, dramatic illustrations were produced for Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist by Frederick Pailthorpe in 1885. The manuscript of Dickens’ preface to the 1850 edition, in the author’s own dynamic handwriting, is also in our collection.

The caption of this illustration is ‘Hullo, my covey! What's the row?’

In the novel, Oliver answers by explaining his situation to his new friend.

‘I am very hungry and tired,’ replied Oliver: the tears standing in his eyes as he spoke. ‘I have walked a long way. I have been walking these seven days.’

Oliver Twist follows an orphaned boy from early childhood in the workhouse, into apprenticeship with an undertaker at nine years old, and eventually into the dangerous criminal underworld of 1830s London.

As he put it in his preface, 13 years after Oliver’s first appearance in print, Dickens was deeply concerned with the ‘elevation of the poor’. Throughout his career, his creative imagination was fuelled by his sympathy for the most powerless members of society.

Which is your favourite of Dickens’ novels?

Take a closer look at these illustrations at 🔗https://bit.ly/3GOHQgD
📜Shelfmark Dex.312 (2)

You can see the manuscript of Dickens’ preface to the 1850 edition of Oliver Twist at 🔗http://bit.ly/3GPM7R2
📜Shelfmark Dex.289

25/11/2022

Have you ever read a book bound in cardboard?

Born of economic crisis in Argentina in the early-mid 2000s, cartonera is a grassroots movement to democratise literature. Being a fraction of the cost of a typical book to produce and sell, the cartonera phenomenon ensured that prose and poetry would remain accessible to Latin Americans living in poverty.

If you’d like to learn more about cartonera, you can watch the full video here 👉http://bit.ly/3GFcyca

24/11/2022

25 years ago, we opened our first St Pancras Reading Room 🎉

Pictured is Chrissie Ronalds on 24 November 1997, helping one of our first ever visitors to St Pancras sign up for a Reader Pass. Over two thousand books were delivered to Readers in the first two hours!

Up to 600 Readers entered Humanities 1 and 2 that day – our first Reading Rooms to open. And already waiting inside was the very first book to be ordered: Volume 1 of Fifteenth Century Studies (1978).

To celebrate the occasion, the first arrivals were invited for a glass of champagne – though many chose to get straight to their studies instead 🥂

Since then, we’ve made it even easier to get your free Reader Pass. Everyone can get one to use our Reading Rooms and access over 170 million items in our collection – just visit us in St Pancras or Boston Spa... It’s all yours 👉http://bit.ly/3gB9GCA

23/11/2022

The theme of UK Disability Month is Disability, Health and Wellbeing. In the first of our blog series, oral history curator Dr Madeline White explores how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the lives of disabled people.

In an interview for NHS at 70: NHS Voices of Covid- 19, former Director of Communications of the NHS Stephen Lightbown reflects on life as a wheelchair user before and during the pandemic. This clip features on our Covid Stories web space, which showcases some of the true and raw experiences of NHS staff and patients that are captured in the Voices of Our National Health Service collection.

Read more on how societal barriers have been exacerbated by Covid-19 and how this recording resonated with one of our Disability and Carer Support Network members at http://bit.ly/3TZxoFZ.

And explore more first-hand descriptions of everyday life during Covid-19 from NHS staff and patients in our Voices of Our National Health Service collection: http://bit.ly/3TZxFbZ

📸 Photograph courtesy of Stephen Lightbown
🔉 Audio © University of Manchester
📑 BL reference C1887/700

22/11/2022

Struggling to find the perfect gift for someone this Christmas? Let us help with some curated gift ideas for the book-lovers in your life! 🎁

For the Strictly fan: Can’t tell your Charleston from your Cha-Cha-Cha? ‘Dancing in Time: The History of Moving and Shaking’ presents a full-colour visual history of dance from the waltz to modern hip-hop, with 200+ illustrations from our collections 💃

For the poetry lover: Ever wondered how your favourite poems were first written? ‘Poems in Progress: Drafts from Master Poets’ brings together early drafts of some of the most culturally significant and emotionally affecting poems in our collections and beyond.

For the beautiful book collector: In this beautiful hardback collection, ‘Celtic Weird: Tales of Wicked Folklore and Dark Mythology’, Johnny Mains dives into the archives to unearth a hoard of enthralling tales imbued with elements of Celtic folklore ranging from the 1820s to the 1980s, including three lost gems translated from Gaelic.

For the whole family: In her second compilation for the Library, ‘A Children's Literary Treasury’, Anna James (author of the Pages & Co. series) delves deep into the collections to present stories for comfort, inspiration and adventure as well as touching tales to make you laugh or sometimes cry ♥️

All of these titles are available from our shop at 🔗http://bit.ly/3Vd5fwe and with coming up on the 27th, we'll have a whole host of offers and discounts running across the whole weekend (in-store and online). Perfect if you haven't started Christmas shopping yet!

22/11/2022

As we delve deeper into our Voices of Partition resource, today we’re sharing the singer Sitara Begum, later better known as the actress ‘Jyoti’ of Bombay cinema fame, in a recording from 1940 performing Bharat Nahi Aazad (“India is Not Free”) in Urdu.

In this song, she calls for an end to the suffering of Indian people under British rule, refers to Gandhi’s sacrifices for the nation and appeals to India’s youth to fight for independence and be ready to sacrifice their lives for a free India.

Our Voices of Partition resource includes many other powerful but lesser known female singers of the time who bore witness and captured moments of great historical and political significance through their music.

Read and listen more at http://bit.ly/3OqBTIH

🔉 Sitara Begum sings Bharat Nahi Aazad (“India is Not Free”) in Urdu. Audio released in 1940 © Public domain. Image © Surasti Puri⁣.

21/11/2022

What did you dream about last night? And what do you think it meant? This item from our collection offers to predict your future based on the activity of your sleeping mind 💭

Published in 1830, Hodgson’s Fashionable Dream Book states that ‘All things past, present and to come may be ascertained by means of dreams’.

It offers a very varied alphabetical list of possible dream topics, including blindness, bonnets, blind-man’s-bluff, earthquakes, Ireland, oysters and teeth.

The glamorous lady on the cover of the pamphlet appears to be dreaming of a handsome soldier and a chest full of money. Personally, we like the sound of ‘flying’, ‘feasting’ and ‘kittens’.

We can’t promise to interpret your dreams, but please tell us all about them in the comments.

Take a closer look at the pamphlet at 🔗http://bit.ly/3Xg0h3S

📜Shelfmark 1508/173

18/11/2022

Opening today, our new free exhibition delves into the rich and diverse 300 year history of Chinese communities in the UK.

See manuscripts and photographs and listen to the stories of remarkable individuals. From fashion to Chinatowns, migration to sport, learn about the history of this vibrant community from the people who lived through it.

Visit for free today: http://bit.ly/3UJVc1U

Supported by tax, accounting and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg. https://www.blickrothenberg.com/

Photo 3 credit: Yuhan Wang

17/11/2022

There are just under two weeks to step inside your story and be in with a chance of winning book tokens for your school. To inspire your own creations, author Rose Robbins shares her own concertina book. Discover her love of music, chips, pancakes and furry creatures and meet her fantastical friends Lenny, Bluey and Eric.

For more details on how to take part, visit 👉http://bit.ly/3UIuYwF

Where will your imagination take you?

Michael Rosen

16/11/2022

This , we're sharing stories of disabilities within our collections, presented in a series of blogs by curators at the Library and supported by commentary from a member of the Library's Disability and Carers Support Network.

In this first week, we're reflecting on words by activist and writer Alice Wong from her book Disability Visibility (2020).

Photo of Alice Wong, an Asian American disabled woman in a power chair. She is wearing a black blouse with a floral print, a bold red lip colour and a trach at her neck. In the background is a grey cement wall. Photo credit: Eddie Hernandez Photography

15/11/2022

Do beards alarm you? Are your dreams haunted by belly buttons? Get acquainted with some of the more unusual phobias under the sun and tell us about yours 👇

14/11/2022

Sandra Agard is much more than a Learning Facilitator for Schools here at the Library. She’s a writer, storyteller and cultural historian, whose service to literature won her an honorary fellowship to the Royal Society of Literature, and the renowned Benson medal – also won by Maureen Duffy, E M Forster and J R R Tolkien.

We interviewed Sandra about her work inside and outside of the Library. You can read it here 👉http://bit.ly/3O35VSq

13/11/2022

We will open at 11.02 today following the two-minute silence to mark Remembrance Sunday, 13 November.

📝 In Flanders fields by John McCrae
🖌️ Illuminated by Ernest Clegg
📑 YA.2001.a.37287

11/11/2022

Around the year 700, the bishop Eadfrith wrote and painted the Lindisfarne Gospels completely by hand. Combining influences drawn from Irish, Germanic and Mediterranean cultures, it’s a stunning example of medieval art and book design.

1300 years later, the Lindisfarne Gospels stands as one of the world’s most celebrated manuscripts.

Watch the full video here, presented by curator Eleanor Jackson 👉http://bit.ly/3G829Wf

And explore the Lindisfarne Gospels further in Eleanor’s new book 📙 http://bit.ly/3DW4Kjj

Address

96 Euston Road
London
NW12

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 7:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 7:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 6pm
Saturday	9:30am - 5pm
Sunday	11am - 5pm

Telephone

+443303331144

Website

http://www.bl.uk/

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Videos

Do beards alarm you? Are your dreams haunted by belly buttons? Get acquainted with some of the more unusual phobias under the sun and tell us about yours 👇

Around the year 700, the bishop Eadfrith wrote and painted the Lindisfarne Gospels completely by hand. Combining influences drawn from Irish, Germanic and Mediterranean cultures, it’s a stunning example of medieval art and book design. 1300 years later, the Lindisfarne Gospels stands as one of the world’s most celebrated manuscripts. Watch the full video here, presented by curator Eleanor Jackson 👉http://bit.ly/3G829Wf And explore the Lindisfarne Gospels further in Eleanor’s new book 📙 http://bit.ly/3DW4Kjj

75 years ago, the end of British colonial rule gave birth to the new nation states of India and Pakistan but the creation of the hastily drawn borders also gave rise to one of the largest mass migrations and violence. Our newest online resource, Voices of Partition, explores the events that led up to this division, how these events still cast a shadow over the creation of India and Pakistan, and why many South Asians living in Britain and their descendants are still haunted by memories of Partition. Today, listen in to Raj Daswani as he describes taking tiffin tins to leading female activist Aruna Asif Ali while she was in hiding. And head to 🔗http://bit.ly/3DSuJIn to delve back into this devastating and complex period of history. Audio © BBC Image © Surasti Puri

Get ready for blast-off this #BonfireNight2022! Wishing you a safe and happy Bonfire Night 🎆 📑 Shelfmark 8234.ff.2 📕 High Street by J M Richards ✏️ Illustrated by Eric Ravilious

Who remembers the playground games of their childhood? Looking back to a word used in the '90s, a lady from Dorset recalls ‘thousies’ – a word used to avoid being caught in the age-old game of tag. #LocalLingo Listen to this sound and more at 🔗http://bit.ly/3zHrQJb 🗣️C1442/00351 Unnamed, 1993- (speaker, female, Dorset), Evolving English VoiceBank 📸 Group of primary school age students playing tag at the park during breaktime © FatCamera, istockphoto

Tonight I light the candles of my eyes in the lee And swing down this branch full of red leaves. Yellow moon, skull and spine of the hare, Arrow me to town on the neck of the air. I hear the undertaker make love in the heather; The candy maker, poor fellow, is under the weather. Skunk, moose, raccoon, they go to the doors in threes With a torch in their hands or pleas: “O, please . . .” ... The apples are thumping, winter is coming. The lips of the pumpkin soon will be humming. By the caw of the crow on the first of the year, Something will die, something appear. Extract from ‘A Rhyme for Halloween’ by Maurice Kilwein Guevara (1996) Have a spooky Halloween! 🧹🎃 📑 Shelfmark 11603.h.21 📗 The Year's at the Spring. An anthology of recent poetry. Compiled by Lettice D'Oyly Walters ✏️ Illustrated by Harry Clarke

Roxane, Hephaestion, or Bagoas? Who was Alexander the Great’s true love? Historians and artists alike are still piecing together the mysteries of his multiple lovers. Watch the full video here 👉https://bit.ly/3U4yVex And visit our new exhibition Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth 🔗https://bit.ly/3Wd8JA2 Supported by Kusuma Trust, Ubisoft UK and Assassin's Creed. https://www.kusumatrust.org/latest_updates/british-library-2/ https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4NXZclyvIlERbp0rw1CCDL

Roxane, Hephaestion, or Bagoas? Who was Alexander the Great’s true love? Historians and artists alike are still piecing together the mysteries of his multiple lovers. Watch the full video here 👉 https://bit.ly/3U4yVex And visit our new exhibition Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth 👉 https://bit.ly/3Wd8JA2 Supported by Kusuma Trust, Ubisoft UK and Assassin's Creed. https://www.kusumatrust.org/latest_updates/british-library-2/ https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4NXZclyvIlERbp0rw1CCDL

Who was Alexander the Great? The answer might surprise you. Through astrological clay tablets and ancient papyri, comics and cutting-edge videogames, piece together an epic tale 2,000 years in the telling. Our brand new exhibition Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth is the first of its kind to explore the rich history of storytelling about one of the most famous figures of the ancient world. Open from today, get £2 off your tickets when you book in advance 👉https://bit.ly/3gexADf Supported by Kusuma Trust and Ubisoft UK, Assassin's Creed https://www.kusumatrust.org/latest_updates/british-library-2/ https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/assassins-creed/15th-anniversary

Don’t be a ninnyhammer. Insult in style with this collection of archaic and less-known cusses. What’s your favourite uncommon insult?⁣

If someone claimed they’d given birth to rabbits, would you believe them? In 1726, Mary Toft convinced the nation of just that. The press spread her story far and wide, becoming one of the earliest examples of fake news. Watch the full story here 👉 https://bit.ly/3TdSQXR

Happy Bookshop day! 📚 Obsessed with our Crime Classics? Looking for the perfect gift? Our new subscription service is the perfect gift for the crime classic fan. Automatically receive our latest Crime Classic as soon as it’s published. This subscription is perfect if you’re looking to gift short stories and novels from the Golden Age of crime or you're looking to treat yourself to some best-selling mysteries 🎁 This month you'll receive ‘The White Priory Murders’ by Carter Dickson. Find out more 👉https://bit.ly/3fSF9PX

#LibrariesWeek may be coming to an end, but learning is for life. We have events, courses articles and blogs for everyone. #NeverStopLearning at www.bl.uk

To kick off our #LibrariesWeek celebration, here’s Shami Chakrabarti recounting how she felt when she got her first library card. You can hear the full conversation in the Protest episode of our All About Sound podcast 👉https://www.bl.uk/podcasts/all-about-sound

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language (1755)

This month was the 313th birthday of Samuel Johnson, the author of one of the most famous dictionaries in history. First published in 1755, the Dictionary of the English Language listed 40,000 words and took just over 8 years to compile. Aside from its sheer scope, it is infamous for its tongue-in-cheek definitions. Here are a select few. Can you help out with the meaning of Trolmydames? Find out more here 👉https://www.bl.uk/works/a-dictionary-of-the-english-language

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me Fluttering from the autumn tree. Extract from Emily Brontë's Fall, Leaves, Fall Happy #AutumnEquinox! 🍂

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II offered words of support to the nation throughout her reign and even before it, as this recording from our Sound Archive demonstrates. This edited extract from a radio broadcast dates from 1940, during World War II. Princess Elizabeth, then aged 14, speaks to the children of Britain, in particular those who had been evacuated and were separated from their parents, as she often was herself during this time. 🔉 ‘A broadcast message to children’, recorded 13 October 1940, Shelfmark 1CD0197283/2CD0053501

Wishing you a happy #LunarNewYear! This year is the year of the tiger 🐅 福虎贺岁，恭祝大家新春快乐，虎年行大运！🐯 福虎賀歲，恭祝大家新春快樂，虎年行大運！🐯 📜 Or. 14164 f.99v

‘O my Luve's like a red, red rose, O That's newly sprung in June; O My Luve's like the melodie O That's sweetly play'd in tune.’ On #BurnsNight find his manuscript ‘A Red, Red Rose’ (1794) here: 🔗www.bl.uk/collection-items/my-luve-is-like-a-red-red-rose-by-robert-burns 📜Transcript of Add MS 22307 (1788-94), Robert Burns 🌹10.Tab.29

#FolkFriday – As along the river...

‘As along the river’ is a folk song from Udmurtia (Russia), normally sung by women when saying goodbye at the end of an evening gathering. It is about women doing laundry by the river and describes the various stages of washing clothes. #FolkFriday⁣ ⁣ This recording is part of the collection Vanishing voices from the Uralic world. ⁣ ⁣ It was sung by: ⁣ ⁣ Vasilisa Pavlovna Rychkova⁣ Lia Kuzmovna Salamatova⁣ Alevtina Pavlovna Istomina⁣ Yelena Ivanovna Kozhevnikova⁣ Kapitolina Izosimovna Teplyashina⁣ ⁣ 📼CEAP347/76/2, recorded 1995⁣ 🖼️Digital Store 10210.df.18⁣

‘After the ball was over, Susie took out her glass eye’, sung by Emma Vickers (1894–1977) from Burscough, Lancashire. This is a parody of the song ‘After the Ball’ by Charles K. Harris (1891), which was one of the most successful songs of its day. #FolkFriday It is an example of how popular songs and their parodies can become a part of folk singers’ repertoires. 🎙️‘After the ball was over, Susie took out her glass eye’, recorded by Fred Hamer (1969), C433/59 S1 C3 📸A selection of 50 glass eyes, possibly made by E. Muller of Liverpool, Wellcome Collection

From the great words of Shakespeare, we bring you the vainglorious Malvolio on the #TwelfthNight. 🗣️Speaker: J. E. Fox, recorded in 1947 for Linguaphone Records 📼Shelfmark: 1CL0005061

'The children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads' Artist/creator: Denslow, W.W (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1902) Shelfmark: 12805.w.66 #ChristmasEve

Season’s greetings! Thank you to all our readers, researchers, digital events viewers and exhibition visitors for all your support throughout this year. We look forward to seeing you in 2022. Our festive greetings animation features a young boy and a man warmly greeting people, based on an original A Christmas Carol illustration by Arthur Rackham (1915).

da da da dummm. da da da dummm.* Meet the man behind the music in our ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Beethoven exhibition is open until 24 April 2022. *There’s not much on the Fifth, but we do delve in to the commissioning and response to Ludwig van Beethoven’s celebrated Ninth Symphony with manuscripts and letters in his own hand. Book your tickets for 2022: 🎼https://bit.ly/324vaAo

It’s a winterful life ❄️ 🎨 The Night before Christmas... Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. 🔗 https://imagesonline.bl.uk/asset/144468/ 📑 Shelfmark: 011686.dd.2

The Mistletoe Bough

‘The Mistletoe Bough’ (c.1830) tells the story of a game of hide and seek that goes tragically wrong. #FolkFriday This song was composed c.1830 by Sir Henry Bishop (1786–1855) with words by Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1839). The direct inspiration for Bayly’s rendition was probably ‘Ginevra’, a poem published in 1822 by the English poet Samuel Rogers, telling much the same story. The song was printed on broadsheets and taken up by country singers on both sides of the Atlantic as a Christmas party piece. Curiously, many performers state that the location of the tragedy is somewhere near where they live. 🔉 C742/89 S2 C1, the Mistletoe Bough, recorded by Gwilym Davies, January 1975 🎙️Sung by Archer Goode

Happy New Year

Seeing in the new year in comfort and style. Happy New Year everyone!

Festive words

Tis the season of weird and wonderful traditions. What unusual or international festive words do you know?

Comments

📢 Our Anti-Racism Project: an update.

Over the course of 2021, staff from across the Library took part in a powerful conversation about race and equality. The resulting recommendations now form the basis of our new Race Equality Action Plan.

To find out how we’re planning to roll this out - read our latest Living Knowledge blog: https://bit.ly/3g0HhBO

The Qissah-yi Kamrup is a Persian Romance of the enchanted lovers Prince Kamrup and Princess Kamlata. This lavishly illustrated copy dates back to 1745 and was likely commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah during his reign.

The ornate Islamic-style book was in a very fragile state with detached boards and broken sewing structure before treatment by conservator Vicky. In order to return the binding to a working structure the volume needed to be taken apart and resewn.

The boards and textblock were carefully surface cleaned. A guard of lightweight Japanese tissue was applied to the spinefold of each folio and the repaired textblock was resewn with an Islamic link stitch.

New endpapers were added to give additional protection to the textblock and new endbands were sewn in the same colour and style as the original.

The damaged board corners were rebuilt and covered with leather. The boards were reattached and the volume rebacked in archival calf, dyed to match the boards. Finally the original spine was re-adhered in place. The volume can now be handled by staff and readers.

📜 Qissah-yi Kamrup, anonymous author, 1745. Or3729.

‘O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
O That's newly sprung in June;
O My Luve's like the melodie
O That's sweetly play'd in tune.’

On find his manuscript ‘A Red, Red Rose’ (1794) here: 🔗www.bl.uk/collection-items/my-luve-is-like-a-red-red-rose-by-robert-burns

📜Transcript of Add MS 22307 (1788-94), Robert Burns
🌹10.Tab.29

A Daughter of the D'Urbervilles? Here is an autograph manuscript of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, where the original title was crossed out. You can see revisions to the dialogue, marking changes from standard English to dialectal phrasing, such as ‘t'ye’ and ‘well as I know 'ee by sight’.

Find the first and final chapters here: 🔗www.bl.uk/collection-items/manuscript-of-the-first-and-last-chapter-of-tess-of-the-durbervilles-by-thomas-hardy

📜Add MS 38182

‘As along the river’ is a folk song from Udmurtia (Russia), normally sung by women when saying goodbye at the end of an evening gathering. It is about women doing laundry by the river and describes the various stages of washing clothes. ⁣
⁣
This recording is part of the collection Vanishing voices from the Uralic world. ⁣
⁣
It was sung by: ⁣
⁣
Vasilisa Pavlovna Rychkova⁣
Lia Kuzmovna Salamatova⁣
Alevtina Pavlovna Istomina⁣
Yelena Ivanovna Kozhevnikova⁣
Kapitolina Izosimovna Teplyashina⁣
⁣
📼CEAP347/76/2, recorded 1995⁣
🖼️Digital Store 10210.df.18⁣

This month, and at the start of a new year, we're feeling inspired by magical thresholds in literature. From stepping into Narnia through a wardrobe, to venturing through the looking-glass, we went down a ‘rabbit hole’ of how common these otherworldly thresholds are in children’s literature.

Here are some of our favourites – what’s yours?

📗The Secret Garden (1911), Frances Hodgson Burnett⁣
🖼️RB.23.a.35505⁣
⁣
📕Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871), Lewis Carroll⁣
🖼️C.71.b.33⁣
⁣
📘Peter Pan (1904), J M Barrie⁣
🖼️Maps.175.v.1.(2) ⁣
🖼️The Peter Pan Picture Book (1907), Alice B. Woodward and Daniel O'Connor⁣
⁣
📙The Chronicles of Narnia (1950), C S Lewis⁣
🖼️X1115(5) ⁣
⁣
📖Harry Potter (1997), J K Rowling⁣
🖼️Maps.30.b.12⁣
🖼️Phoenix illustration by Jim Kay from our Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition. ⁣
⁣
Designs by British Library Creative Artworker Daniella ⁣

Have you ever considered what it was like to be caught up in a witch-hunt?

On the remote plantations of the American frontier, settlers clung to popular beliefs from old England – portents, charms and the power of the devil. Witch-hunts were rare, but sometimes exploded with terrifying ferocity. Join Malcolm Gaskill and as they bear witness to one family’s tragedy in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1651.

This woodcut comes from a print across the pond, which details the demise of the Witch of Newbury.

📅 Tuesday 1 February, 19.00 – 20.30
Book now: www.bl.uk/events/the-true-story-of-an-american-witch-hunt

📜 Shelfmark: E.69.(9)

‘The mist is resting on the hill;
The smoke is hanging in the air;
The very clouds are standing still:
A breathless calm broods everywhere.’

Born in 1820, Anne Brontë was the lesser-known of the Brontë sisters. Her siblings spoke of her as gentle and reserved but to understand how Anne thought of herself, the poem ‘Self-Communion’ is one of the most important surviving sources.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3A1abuF

📜'Self-Communion' by Anne Brontë (November 1847–17 April 1848). Ashley MS 154.

On 23rd May 1933, Mons Danjou, the first French Ambassador to Nepal, led a French delegation to Nepal to win over the Nepal government's support against Germany. These photographs show Mons Danjou arriving at the Gaddhi Baithak with Northern Commanding General Bahadur Shamsher Rana.

Part of the Dirgha Man and Ganesh Man Chitrakar Art Foundation collection. You can see court photographer Dirgha Man taking a photograph in the right corner.

Explore more here: https://eap.bl.uk/item/EAP838-1-1-1-170

📷EAP838/1/1/1/183
📷EAP838/1/1/1/170

We’ve all heard of him – but, who exactly was Ludwig van Beethoven? Let’s delve into some facts 👇

🎵 Born in 1770, Beethoven was brought up in the city of Bonn.
🎵 His first published sonatas came in 1783, when he was just 12 years old. The preface claimed that Beethoven had been composing since his fourth year.
🎵 Whilst Beethoven spent the majority of his life established in Vienna’s musical world, he also worked internationally. His Ninth Symphony was a commission from the Philharmonic Society of London, although it was debuted in Vienna before a performance in London in March 1825.
🎵 Beethoven died on 26 March 1827 following a prolonged illness. His funeral in Vienna was a major public event.

What are your favourite facts about Beethoven?

Meet the man behind the music. Visit our ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Beethoven exhibition, open until 24 April: https://bit.ly/3GBaAa1

Watermarks, ship logs and ‘archive fever’, Conservation Team Leader Heather takes us through her journey into conservation and her work on the British Library Qatar Project.

Read more: https://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2021/11/behind-the-scenes-at-the-british-library-heather-murphy-conservation-team-leader.html

Gloves, slippers and confectionery. Some things never change...🎁

This , take a closer look at the gifts given to Elizabeth I over the course of her reign. And find out what she sent to Mary, Queen of Scots, for Prince James' baptism.

🔗 https://bit.ly/3eU6AoL