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Professor Bill Bell
Teams and roles for Bill Bell
Overview
I am Professor of Bibliography at Cardiff University where I have taught for over 10 years. I was the founder of the Centre for the History of the Book at The University of Edinburgh in 1995, and Director until 2012. I have held visiting posts at the Humanities Research Centre of The Australian National University, The University of Ottawa, and St John's College, Oxford, Jadavpur University, and Universities of Helsinki and Goettingen. In 2027-28, I will be a visiting fellow at The Munich Centre for Advanced Studies. I have also served on several professional bodies and am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. The latest addition to the Crusoe's Books blog can be found here.
Publication
2026
- Bell, B. 2026. Series Preface. In: Green, D. et al., The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, Volume 1, Part I: From the Earliest Times to 1707 – Foundations, Production and Expansion. Edinburgh University Press. , pp.ii-vi.
2023
- Bell, B. 2023. Ignoble strife: Far from the Madding Crowd and the agricultural labourers strike of 1874. Journal of Victorian Culture 28 (2), pp.193-208. vcac083. (10.1093/jvcult/vcac083)
2022
- Bell, B. 2022. Hermeneutic castaways: Problems in reading Robinson Crusoe. In: Haug, C. , Frimmel, J. and Bell, B. eds. 300 jahre "Robinson Crusoe". De Gruyter. , pp.293-307. (10.1515/9783110776195-015)
2021
- Bell, B. 2021. Crusoe's books: readers in the empire of print, 1800-1918. Oxford University Press. (10.1093/oso/9780192894694.001.0001)
2020
- Bell, B. 2020. The market for travel writing. In: Schaff, B. ed. Handbook of British Travel Writing. Vol. 12, Handbooks of English and American Studies Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. , pp.125-141. (10.1515/9783110498974-008)
2019
- Bell, B. 2019. A castaway among cannibals: 300 years of Robinson Crusoe. TLS-The Times Literary Supplement (6061), pp.7-8.
2018
- Bell, B. 2018. What did Tommy read? The complex mental worlds of soldiers on the Western Front. TLS-The Times Literary Supplement (6032), pp.10-11.
- Bell, B. et al. 2018. Series preface. In: Green, D. et al., The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, Volume 1: Medieval to 1707. Vol. 1, Par, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. , pp.ii-vi.
2016
- Bell, B. 2016. Kingdoms of the mind: Scottish settlers and their books in the nineteenth century. In: Danielczyk, J. et al., Zurück in die Zukunft - Digitale Medien, historische Buchforschung und andere komparatistische Abenteuer. Buchforschung. Beitrage Zum Buchwesen In Osterreich (Book 9) Harrassowitz, O; Auflage
2015
- Keighren, I. M. , Withers, C. W. J. and Bell, B. 2015. Travels into print: Exploration, writing, and publishing with John Murray, 1773-1859. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
2013
- Bell, B. 2013. Authors in an industrial economy: the case of John Murray’s travel writers. Romantic Textualities (21)
2012
- Bell, B. 2012. Signs taken for wonders: an anecdote taken from history. New Literary History 43 (2), pp.309-329. (10.1353/nlh.2012.0015)
- Bell, B. 2012. "Think on these things": the reading subject in 19th century missions. In: Tamcke, M. and Jathanna, G. eds. Construction of the Other, Identification of the Self: German Mission in India. Studien zur Orientalischen Kirchengeschichte Vol. 45.Berlin: LIT Verlag. , pp.13-24.
2011
- Bell, B. 2011. Commentary: Selkirk's silence. Times Literary Supplement 5633 , pp.14-15.
2007
- Bell, B. 2007. Symposium: What was the history of the book? Introduction. Modern Intellectual History 4 (3), pp.491-494. (10.1017/S1479244307001369)
- Bell, B. ed. 2007. The Edinburgh history of the book in Scotland, volume 3: ambition and industry 1800-1880. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Bell, B. 2007. Reading between the lines: literature on the Western Front 1914-1918. Journal for the Study of British Cultures 14 (1), pp.9-19.
2004
- Bell, B. 2004. Bound for Botany Bay; or, what did the nineteenth century convict read?. In: Myers, R. , Harris, M. and Mandelbrote, G. eds. Against the Law: Crime, Sharp Practice and the Control of Print. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll. , pp.151-176.
- Bell, B. 2004. Smith, George Murray (1824–1901). In: Cannadine, D. ed. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press(10.1093/ref:odnb/36138)
2002
- Bell, B. 2002. From Grub Street to Parnassus: Matthew Arnold and the House of Macmillan. In: James, E. ed. MacMillan: A Publishing Tradition from 1843. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. , pp.52-69.
2000
- Brake, L. , Bell, B. and Finkelstein, D. eds. 2000. Nineteenth-century media and the construction of identities. Basingstoke: Palgrave. (10.1007/978-1-349-62885-8)
- Bell, B. , Bevan, J. and Bennett, P. eds. 2000. Across boundaries: the book in culture and commerce. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll.
- Bell, B. , Bennett, P. and Bevan, J. 2000. Across boundaries. Oak Knoll Press.
- Bell, B. 2000. Beyond the death of the author: Matthew Arnold's two audiences, 1888-1930. Book History 3 , pp.155-1656. (10.1353/bh.2000.0002)
1999
- Bell, B. 1999. Victorian paratexts [Book Review]. Victorian Literature and Culture 27 (1), pp.327-335.
1998
- Bell, B. 1998. Print culture in exile: the Scottish emigrant reader in the nineteenth century. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada Cahiers de la Societe Bibliographique du Canada Bibliographical Society of Canada 36 (2) Jan.
1997
- Bell, B. 1997. Critical opinion: The function of Arnold at the present time. Essays in Criticism XLVII (3), pp.203-219. (10.1093/eic/XLVII.3.203)
Articles
- Bell, B. 2023. Ignoble strife: Far from the Madding Crowd and the agricultural labourers strike of 1874. Journal of Victorian Culture 28 (2), pp.193-208. vcac083. (10.1093/jvcult/vcac083)
- Bell, B. 2019. A castaway among cannibals: 300 years of Robinson Crusoe. TLS-The Times Literary Supplement (6061), pp.7-8.
- Bell, B. 2018. What did Tommy read? The complex mental worlds of soldiers on the Western Front. TLS-The Times Literary Supplement (6032), pp.10-11.
- Bell, B. 2013. Authors in an industrial economy: the case of John Murray’s travel writers. Romantic Textualities (21)
- Bell, B. 2012. Signs taken for wonders: an anecdote taken from history. New Literary History 43 (2), pp.309-329. (10.1353/nlh.2012.0015)
- Bell, B. 2011. Commentary: Selkirk's silence. Times Literary Supplement 5633 , pp.14-15.
- Bell, B. 2007. Symposium: What was the history of the book? Introduction. Modern Intellectual History 4 (3), pp.491-494. (10.1017/S1479244307001369)
- Bell, B. 2007. Reading between the lines: literature on the Western Front 1914-1918. Journal for the Study of British Cultures 14 (1), pp.9-19.
- Bell, B. 2000. Beyond the death of the author: Matthew Arnold's two audiences, 1888-1930. Book History 3 , pp.155-1656. (10.1353/bh.2000.0002)
- Bell, B. 1999. Victorian paratexts [Book Review]. Victorian Literature and Culture 27 (1), pp.327-335.
- Bell, B. 1998. Print culture in exile: the Scottish emigrant reader in the nineteenth century. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada Cahiers de la Societe Bibliographique du Canada Bibliographical Society of Canada 36 (2) Jan.
- Bell, B. 1997. Critical opinion: The function of Arnold at the present time. Essays in Criticism XLVII (3), pp.203-219. (10.1093/eic/XLVII.3.203)
Book sections
- Bell, B. 2026. Series Preface. In: Green, D. et al., The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, Volume 1, Part I: From the Earliest Times to 1707 – Foundations, Production and Expansion. Edinburgh University Press. , pp.ii-vi.
- Bell, B. 2022. Hermeneutic castaways: Problems in reading Robinson Crusoe. In: Haug, C. , Frimmel, J. and Bell, B. eds. 300 jahre "Robinson Crusoe". De Gruyter. , pp.293-307. (10.1515/9783110776195-015)
- Bell, B. 2020. The market for travel writing. In: Schaff, B. ed. Handbook of British Travel Writing. Vol. 12, Handbooks of English and American Studies Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. , pp.125-141. (10.1515/9783110498974-008)
- Bell, B. et al. 2018. Series preface. In: Green, D. et al., The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, Volume 1: Medieval to 1707. Vol. 1, Par, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. , pp.ii-vi.
- Bell, B. 2016. Kingdoms of the mind: Scottish settlers and their books in the nineteenth century. In: Danielczyk, J. et al., Zurück in die Zukunft - Digitale Medien, historische Buchforschung und andere komparatistische Abenteuer. Buchforschung. Beitrage Zum Buchwesen In Osterreich (Book 9) Harrassowitz, O; Auflage
- Bell, B. 2012. "Think on these things": the reading subject in 19th century missions. In: Tamcke, M. and Jathanna, G. eds. Construction of the Other, Identification of the Self: German Mission in India. Studien zur Orientalischen Kirchengeschichte Vol. 45.Berlin: LIT Verlag. , pp.13-24.
- Bell, B. 2004. Bound for Botany Bay; or, what did the nineteenth century convict read?. In: Myers, R. , Harris, M. and Mandelbrote, G. eds. Against the Law: Crime, Sharp Practice and the Control of Print. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll. , pp.151-176.
- Bell, B. 2004. Smith, George Murray (1824–1901). In: Cannadine, D. ed. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press(10.1093/ref:odnb/36138)
- Bell, B. 2002. From Grub Street to Parnassus: Matthew Arnold and the House of Macmillan. In: James, E. ed. MacMillan: A Publishing Tradition from 1843. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. , pp.52-69.
Books
- Bell, B. 2021. Crusoe's books: readers in the empire of print, 1800-1918. Oxford University Press. (10.1093/oso/9780192894694.001.0001)
- Keighren, I. M. , Withers, C. W. J. and Bell, B. 2015. Travels into print: Exploration, writing, and publishing with John Murray, 1773-1859. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
- Bell, B. ed. 2007. The Edinburgh history of the book in Scotland, volume 3: ambition and industry 1800-1880. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Brake, L. , Bell, B. and Finkelstein, D. eds. 2000. Nineteenth-century media and the construction of identities. Basingstoke: Palgrave. (10.1007/978-1-349-62885-8)
- Bell, B. , Bevan, J. and Bennett, P. eds. 2000. Across boundaries: the book in culture and commerce. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll.
- Bell, B. , Bennett, P. and Bevan, J. 2000. Across boundaries. Oak Knoll Press.
Research
Bill Bell specializes in nineteenth-century literature and culture and has written on the sociology of the text, the history of the book, and theories of cultural production. He was for several years a member of the editorial team of the Duke-Edinburgh edition of The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle (vols 19-24) and is general editor of the Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland (4 vols, Edinburgh University Press), of which he was also editor of volume 3, Industry and Ambition, 1800-1880 (2007). He was also for several years the editor of the OUP quarterly,The Library: Transactions of the Bibliographical Society, the world's premier journal in bibliography. He is joint author of Travels into Print: Exploration, Writing and Publishing 1760-1860 (Chicago, 2015) and his most recent book Crusoe's Books: Readers in the Empire of Print, 1800-1918, published by Oxford University Press in 2021, was awarded the British Association for Victorian Studies Rosemary Mitchell Award and the Australian Historical Association Kay Daniels Award 2022. He has also co-edited a collection of essays to mark 300 years of Robinson Crusoe (Berlin, 2022). He is presently working on another book-length project called Utopian Things and is a regular contributor to the Literary Review and the Times Literary Supplement. The latest items in the Crusoe's Books blog, based on my research, can be found here.
Biography
Bill Bell is Professor of Bibliography at Cardiff University. He founded the Centre for the History of the Book at The University of Edinburgh in 1995, of which he was Director until 2012. He has held visiting posts at The Australian National University, Goettingen University, Jadavpur University, The University of Ottawa, The Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and St John's College, Oxford. In 2027-28 he will be a Fellow of theCentre for Advanced Studies in Munich. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
He has served on the Council of The Bibliographical Society and from 2008-2014 was Editor of the Society's quarterly, The Library: Transactions of the Bibliographical Society. He has also served on the boards of a number of organizations, including the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals (RSVP) the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP). He is one of three editors of Palgrave Studies in the History of Media and has served on the editorial boards of several publications, including the American annual Book History.
Supervisions
Professor Bell would welcome applications for PhD supervision in the following areas: Victorian literature and culture, literary utopianism, aspects of nineteenth-century bibliography, theories of cultural production, the history of reading.
