Literary works by famous British authors on show at Shanghai Library

Original manuscripts by five acclaimed British authors, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, are currently on display at Shanghai Library for a month.

The exhibition, titled “Where Great writers gather: Treasures from the British Library”, kicked off on March 15. Admission is free.

In addition to Bronte and Dickens, manuscripts and letters by three other heavyweights in the English literature world – D.H. Lawrence, Percy Bysshe Shelley and T.S. Eliot – are on display. Chinese translations, adaptations and responses to their works can also be found at the exhibition.

This new exhibition in the city follows successful showcases at the National Library in Beijing and Wuzhen Art Museum in Zhejiang province last year.

Huang Xiangong, the Chinese curator for the exhibition, said that the curators at Shanghai Library played an important role in the selection of authors and objects from the British Library’s collection to build a systematic narrative on “how Chinese received literature from the world”. This exhibition marks the first collaboration between the British Library and Shanghai Library.

“We hope this is the starting point for a long-term partnership,” said Chen Chao, director of Shanghai Library. “I hope we can do more to help promote cultural exchange between China and the UK in the future.”