This page has bibliographies and other resources relating to the fairytale Gothic of mermaids, selkies, and other such aquatic beings–the subject of the ‘Sea Changes’ conference. It will be added to and revised as our research progresses.

[Other resources will be added soon]

Slideshow

Here’s a slideshow of some of the books in the bibliography:

Bibliography

The Bibliography (which is downloadable or can be viewed on line) can be found here.

Assorted Links

Sounding Scotland’s Waters, 1800-1900: History, Literature, Science

This is the project website for ‘Sounding Scotland’s Waters, 1800-1900: History, Literature Science’, a series of collaborative workshops and events funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and co-ordinated by Dr Katie Garner, Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature at the University of St Andrews (who is one of the keynotes at the Sea Changes conference).

Rackham’s water maidens: The Little Mermaid

A fine collection of classic mermaid illustrations–not just those of Arthur Rackham.

Digital Shores: University of Bern

One of our delegates at the Sea Changes conference, Marion Troxler, who is presenting on ‘Merfolk and the beach: Resisting dualisms with tooth and scales, is involved in the following exciting projects:

The Beach in the Long Twentieth Century. This four-year project . . . will approach the beach from the perspectives of postcolonial studies, ecocriticism and new materialism.

Digital Shores: An Interactive Atlas of Beach Narratives. A visualisation of the function of the beach in (mainly) anglophone literature, published between 1890 and 2023. A map displays our selection of texts – novels, short stories, and narrative nonfiction – in which the beach plays a crucial role.

The Otherworldly Bride Motif in British and Norse Folklore

An informative and entertaining account of selkies, swan maidens, and lake faeries.