Established in 1999 with a bequest, this fund supports acquisitions in English literature of the period from 1830 to 1900.
Dr. Ryals, Penn Ph.D. 1957, was chairman of the Duke University English Department from 1979 to 1982. He specialized in the Victorian poets Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning; his many research publications can be found on the shelves in the Van Pelt Library.
Today's scholars benefit enormously from acquisitions made through the Ryals Fund. Recent additions to our collections include:
Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth, Scarsdale, or, Life on the Lancashire and Yorkshire border, thirty years ago, 1860; William Hurrell Mallock, New republic, or, Culture, faith, and philosophy in an English country house, 1877; and Joseph Henry Shorthouse, John Inglesant: a romance, 1880.
Year after year, the generosity of Dr. Ryals will continue to enrich the resources of the Penn Library.