British Library

06/09/2026

It's National Read a Book Day 📚

Which means today 'you have enough books' simply doesn't count as an argument (especially if they're library books!)

We don't make the rules

06/09/2026

It’s National Read a Book Day. We don’t make the rules 📚

05/09/2026

Happy World Beard Day 🧔

We couldn’t let the day pass without celebrating one of the Library’s finest beards - accompanied, naturally, by four larks, a wren, two owls and a hen.

A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear. Shelfmark: 12332.dd.1

02/09/2026

What does astronomy and the act of pondering have in common?

Here are some of our favourite astronomical etymologies 💫

02/09/2026

Primary school teachers, are your class ready to meet the Gruffalo Granny?

We’ll be celebrating the newest book in the The Gruffalo series with primary school children across the UK who will hear from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler in a free, lively livestreamed event.

There’s still time to sign up for free – book your class’s place on our website for the ultimate back-to-school treat.

Watch live or at a time that works for you.
https://events.bl.uk/events/gruffalo-granny-with-julia-donaldson-and-axel-scheffler

Delivered in partnership with Macmillan Children's Books Children’s Books

Start the new school year with a treat! Join this exclusive online event to hear from picture book star creators, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, as th

30/08/2026

Happy birthday to Mary Shelley, born on this day in 1797 📗

At just 18, Shelley began writing 'Frankenstein', a story that would go on to become one of the most influential works of literature - and help establish science fiction as a genre.

✏The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ... by Florence Ashton Marshall, 1889. Shelfmark: 2408.d.3

26/08/2026

A sad time for music and book lovers alike.

Dolly Parton was not only an extraordinary songwriter and performer, but a passionate champion of reading, putting books into the hands of millions of children through her Imagination Library.

In 2020, Dolly joined us for a very special live-streamed conversation about her life, music and love of books. We’re remembering her today by sharing that story.

youtube.com/watch?v=HZ8zMyXgCwU

This event, originally titled 'An Evening with Dolly Parton', took ...

26/08/2026

It’s World Dog Day, so we thought we’d introduce you to some of the certified good bois in our collection 🐶

These dogs have been getting the portrait treatment for centuries, appearing in medieval manuscripts, illustrated books, paintings and portraits from the 1300s right through to the 1800s.

Which one's your favourite?

1. Book of Hours, Use of Maastricht ('The Maastricht Hours'), Netherlands, S. (Liège); 1st quarter of the 14th century. Shelfmark: Stowe 17
2. by Sita Ram, c.1820. Shelfmark: Add.Or.4996
3. Omne Bonum by James le Palmer, England (London); 1360-1375. Shelfmark: Royal 6 E. VI
4. c 1760 , Shelfmark: J.12,1

23/08/2026

Summer holiday, 1813 edition 🌊

That summer, artist William Daniell set off from Land’s End with a plan to travel around the coast of Great Britain, sketching the landscapes, towns and ports he encountered along the way.

The result? An eight-volume record featuring hundreds (308, to be exact) of beautifully detailed acquatints of Britain’s coastline.

Not a bad way to spend a summer.

✏ All illustrations from A Voyage round Great Britain undertaken in the summer of the year 1813. With a series of views illustrative of the character and prominent features of the coast, drawn and engraved by William Daniell.
1. Shelfmark: G.7044 plate 75
2. Shelfmark: G.7043 plate 31
3. Shelfmark: G.7044 plate 114
4. Shelfmark: G.7046 plate 285

22/08/2026

Not all fairy-tale heroines need rescuing ✨

From Madame d’Aulnoy, who helped introduce the term ‘fairy tales’, to the women whose stories shaped the Brothers Grimm’s collections, women writers and storytellers have had a huge influence on the genre.

Read all about some of the incredible women behind your favourite tales and check out our Fairy Tales exhibition before it closes tomorrow

We celebrate five female writers who have had a lasting impact on the fairy tale genre.

21/08/2026

‘I have one aim – the grotesque. If I am not grotesque, I am nothing’ - Aubrey Beardsley, 1897

Aubrey Beardsley was an English illustrator and author, born on this day in 1872.

He was a leading figure in the aesthetic movement alongside Oscar Wilde. Influenced by Japanese woodcuts, his black ink drawings often depicted the grotesque, the decadent and the erotic, embodying the spirit of the fin de siècle.

Which illustrations are you drawn to?

1. Queen and child in A book of fifty drawings. Leonard Smithers: London, 1897. K.T.C.37.b.16
2. Woman with horns in Illustrations to Edgar Allen Poe. From drawings by Aubrey Beardsley. [With a portrait of Beardsley.] Aubrey Beardsley Club, Indianapolis, 1926. 7852.t.19
3. Woman in a gown in A Second Book of Fifty Drawings. L. Smithers & Co.: London, 1899. K.T.C.37.b.16, page 115
4. A Portfolio of Aubrey Beardsley's Drawings Illustrating "Salome" by Oscar Wilde. John Lane: London, 1920. K.T.C.120.b.12, plate XV.(15)

20/08/2026

It was short but oh so sweet
Rain - we missed you 💙

🖌️Gazette du Bon Ton. Art, modes & frivolités by Lucien Vogel, April 1913
Shelfmark: P.P.5242.dd

15/08/2026

English artist and illustrator Walter Crane was born in 1845

Best known for his children’s book illustrations, Crane was inspired by a wide range of artistic styles, from Japanese colour prints and the Italian Renaissance to the work of William Morris, John Tenniel and John Ruskin.

Which influences can you spot in these works?

1. Corn, The Golden Primer. [In verse. With illustrations by Walter Crane.] 1884. Shelfmark 12805.w.33, part 2, page 26
2. Fairies, Walter Crane's Picture Books. Large series. (1901-10). 12809.w.57.
3. A Flower Wedding. Described by two wallflowers. Decorated by Walter Crane (1905). Shelfmark 12812.b.54.
4. Walter Crane's Picture Books. Large series. (1901-10). 12809.w.57.

13/08/2026

A little peek inside our Fairy Tales exhibition ✨

This is just one of the many stories waiting to be discovered before the exhibition closes on 23 August.

12/08/2026

Watching the eclipse? You're in good company 🌕☀

As we all look up at today's solar eclipse, here's how they were doing it nearly 86 years ago*

We're off to grab our colanders for tonight - happy eclipse viewing!

📷A photograph of the Sun during a total eclipse by Unknown. Image is undated, but this may be the 1 October 1940 solar eclipse

📷Observing a solar eclipse in progress by Unknown. Image is undated, but this may be the 1 October 1940 solar eclipse