This sub-page lists 18th and 19th century volumes that do not easily fit into the categories we have outlined thus far (those of the anthology, miscellany, and beauty), often precisely because the selections are meant to be, in some significant fashion, pedagogically useful as opposed to merely entertaining. The "use" in this instance, then, is moral instruction and all-around improvement, rather than aesthetic pleasure per se, though aesthetic instruction is also held out as necessary. Ranging from Leigh Hunt's offering of his work "for the sake of information" to Elizabeth Mant's desire to "form the taste" of her young readers, the volumes listed here are those explicitly designated for use in the schooling process, whether at home or in a separate institution. The differences between the volumes listed here and those classified only on the main anthologies and miscellanies page might be seen through a comparison of Knox's Elegant Extracts (1809) with Hazlitt's Select British Poets, or New Elegant Extracts (1824), where Hazlitt's collection is a reworking of Knox's, made "new" for an adult, literate, bourgeois reader.
Last Revised: June 12, 1997
- A Collection of Several Stories, Moral Tales, and Reflections taken from the best English Authors for the use of those who learn the English Tongue (1788)
- William Mavor and Samuel Pratt, Classical English Poetry, for the Use of Schools (1801)
- John Evans, The Parnassian Garland; or, Beauties of Modern Poetry (1807)
- Vicesimus Knox, Elegant Extracts: or, useful and entertaining Pieces of Poetry (1809)
- Elizabeth Mant, The Parent's Poetical Anthology: Being a Selection of English Poems primarily designed to assist in forming the taste and the sentiments of young readers (1821)
- Amos J. Cook, The Student's Companion: Containing a Variety of Poetry and Prose (1825)
- Leigh Hunt, Imagination and Fancy; or Selections from the Best English Poets (1844)
- John Bellew, Poets' Corner: A Manual for Students in English Poetry (1884)
20th Century Anthologies designed for use in the school
- David Perkins, ed. English Romantic Writers (1967)
- Maynard Mack, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Fourth Edition. (1979)
- M. H. Abrams, Gen. Ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition. Vol. 2 (1993)
- Duncan Wu, ed. Romanticism: An Anthology (1994)
- David Perkins, ed. English Romantic Writers (1995)
- Anne K. Mellor and Richard E. Matlak, eds.British Literature 1780-1830 (1996)
