In this section you can find out how to reference print books and different types of eBooks:
Books and chapters
Guidance
*What's new?* The new MHRA official guidance states that you don't need to include the place of publication when referencing books and book chapters.
Authors:
- If you are referencing a book with up to three authors, list their names in the order shown in the source. If there are four or more authors, give the name of the first author, followed by ‘and others’.
- In the footnote reference, the author name should be first name followed by surname, e.g. Virginia Woolf. The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the first author in the bibliography reference, e.g. Woolf, Virginia. Subsequent authors should be first name followed by surname, as in the example of Wallis and Shepherd (right).
- Personal titles like Dr, Professor, Sir and Lord are not usually included in references. For example you would put: Doyle, Arthur Conan; Byron, George Gordon
Title: Use book title as it appears on the title page.
Publication details:
- Include edition if not the first, in the form ‘2nd edn’, ‘rev. edn’ etc, preceded by a comma.
- Include the publisher and date but you can now omit the place of publication.
- If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Page numbers:
- Include page number(s) in footnote references only as you are citing a specific section of the book, in the form ‘p.’ for ‘page’ or ‘pp.’ for ‘pages’.
- In the bibliography you are citing the whole book, so no page numbers are needed.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references
For further tips and examples, see the MHRA Style Guide §7.3. Citing Books, Chapters, and Literary Works (a) Citing entire books (in Chapter 7 'References')
Format and examples
*New format*
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Publisher, Year), p. x.
Footnote examples:
Janette Dillon, The Cambridge Introduction to Early English Theatre (Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 34.
Mick Wallis and Simon Shepherd, Studying Plays, 3rd edn (Bloomsbury Academic, 2010), p. 78.
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Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Publisher, Year)
Bibliography examples:
Dillon, Janette, The Cambridge Introduction to Early English Theatre (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
Wallis, Mick and Simon Shepherd, Studying Plays, 3rd edn (Bloomsbury Academic, 2010)
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Previous format: include place of publication before the publisher, for example:
Janette Dillon, The Cambridge Introduction to Early English Theatre (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 34.
Scholarly and annotated editions of novels often include an editor as well as an author. Check the guidance on Referencing a novel with an author and editor / translator
When to use this format: This guidance applies if you are citing a whole edited book. If you are citing a specific chapter, follow the guidance on How to reference a book chapter.
Guidance
*What's new?* The new MHRA official guidance states that you don't need to include the place of publication when referencing books and book chapters.
Footnote reference: Start the footnote reference with the book title, followed by the editor(s). Use the format 'ed. by'.
Bibliography reference: In the bibliography, the editor’s name goes at the beginning of the reference. Use the format 'ed.' or 'eds.'
Publication details:
- Include edition if not the first, in the form ‘2nd edn’, ‘rev. edn’ etc, preceded by a comma.
- Include the publisher and date but you can now omit the place of publication.
- If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Page numbers: In the bibliography you are citing the whole book, so no page numbers are needed.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.
For further tips and examples, see the MHRA Style Guide §7.3. Citing Books, Chapters, and Literary Works (a) Citing entire books (in Chapter 7 'References')
Format and examples
*New format*
Footnote format: Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), p. x.
Footnote examples>:
Romanticism: An Anthology, ed. by Duncan Wu, 3rd edn (Blackwell, 2005), p. 88.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. B, 1820-1865, ed. by Nina Baym, Arnold Krupat and Robert S. Levine, 7th edn (W.W. Norton, 2007), p.60.
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Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ed., Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, Year)
Bibliography examples:
Wu, Duncan, ed., Romanticism: An Anthology, 3rd edn (Blackwell, 2005)
Baym, Nina, Arnold Krupat and Robert S. Levine, eds., The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. B, 1820-1865, 7th edn (W.W. Norton, 2007)
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Previous format: include place of publication before the publisher, for example:
Romanticism: An Anthology, ed. by Duncan Wu, 3rd edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), p. 88.
When to use this format: This guidance applies if you are citing a whole edited book. If you are citing a specific chapter, follow the guidance on How to reference a book chapter.
Guidance
*What's new?* The new MHRA official guidance states that you don't need to include the place of publication when referencing books and book chapters.
Format and examples
This is a book available from the library as a print and eBook: Technology, Literature and Culture, by Alex Goody
You can reference the print or library eBook in the same way:
*New format*
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Publisher, Year), p. x.
Footnote example: Alex Goody, Technology, Literature and Culture (Polity Press, 2011), p. 109.
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Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Publisher, Year)
Bibliography example: Goody, Alex, Technology, Literature and Culture (Polity Press, 2011)
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Previous format: include place of publication before the publisher, for example:
Alex Goody, Technology, Literature and Culture (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2011), p. 109.
When to use this format: If you have read a book on a personal device such as a Kindle, or accessed a commercial online textbook provider like Perlego, these often lack page numbers.
Guidance
*What's new?* The new MHRA official guidance states that you don't need to include the place of publication when referencing books and book chapters.
- If you have read the novel on a personal device, state the format (for example, Kindle).
- If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Page numbers and sections:
- If there are no page numbers, the main advice is that you should only provide section details if these are fixed and stable:
- You could provide the chapter information, e.g. ch. 4.
- You can also number the paragraphs and include the paragraph cited in round brackets, e.g. (para. 3 of 24)
- If using both chapter and paragraph details, put the chapter details first, e.g. ch. 4 (para. 3 of 24).
- Don't use line numbers as these aren't fixed and stable.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.
Format and examples
*New format*
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Publisher, Year), type of ebook, p. x.
Footnote example: Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. by Michael Hofmann (Penguin, 2007), Kindle ebook, p. 33.
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Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Publisher, Year), type of ebook
Bibliography example: Kafka, Franz, Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. by Michael Hofmann (Penguin, 2007), Kindle ebook
If no page numbers are available:
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Publisher, Year), type of ebook, ch. x.
Footnote example: Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower (Headline, 2019), Kindle ebook, ch. 4.
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Previous format: include place of publication before the publisher, for example:
Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. by Michael Hofmann (London: Penguin, 2007), Kindle ebook, p. 33.
Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower (London: Headline, 2019), Kindle ebook, ch. 4.
When to use this format: use this guidance if you've accessed an eBook through one of these collections:
- a Library database of digitised books such as Historical Texts.
If using Historical Texts, click on the 'Details' option on the right to see the bibliographic details for the book. - the freely available website Project Gutenberg which is an excellent place to find free older literary texts.
Project Gutenberg provides guidance on citing its own books which is incorporated here.
Guidance
*What's new?* The new MHRA official guidance states that you don't need to include the place of publication when referencing books and book chapters.
Publication details:
- If there is no publisher credited for a book on the Project Gutenberg website, use Project Gutenberg as in the example (right)
- Use the date when the web page was last updated.
Access details: Include the URL and date accessed.
Page numbers: Older texts may not include page numbers. If you need to include the location of a passage cited, you can number the paragraphs and include the paragraph cited in round brackets before the URL in your footnote, e.g. (para. 3 of 24). Don't use line numbers as these aren't fixed and stable.
For further guidance and examples, see:
- MHRA Style Guide §7.3. Citing Books, Chapters, and Literary Works (a) Citing entire books (in Chapter 7 'References'). Note that there are several different types of eBooks.
- Cite Them Right: Electronic books (MHRA).
Format and examples
*New format*
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, Book Title (Publisher, Year), p. x (if available) <URL> [accessed day month year].
Footnote examples: Aphra Behn, The Fair Jilt, or, The History of Prince Tarquin and Miranda (R. Holt, for Will. Canning, 1688)<https://data-historicaltexts-jisc-ac-uk.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/view?pubId=eebo-ocm13192465e> [accessed 9 April 2021].
Walter Pater, The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (Project Gutenberg, 2021) <https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2398> [accessed 2 May 2024].
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Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, Book Title (Publisher, Year) <URL> [accessed day month year]
Bibliography examples: Behn, Aphra, The Fair Jilt, or, The History of Prince Tarquin and Miranda (R. Holt, for Will. Canning, 1688)<https://data-historicaltexts-jisc-ac-uk.oxfordbrookes.idm.oclc.org/view?pubId=eebo-ocm13192465e> [accessed 9 April 2021]
Pater, Walter, The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry (Project Gutenberg, 2021) <https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2398> [accessed 2 May 2024]
Guidance
Although book titles should normally be placed in italics, one exception to this is sacred texts such as The Bible, The Koran and The Talmud. The titles of these sources - and of books within them - should not be placed in italics or quotation marks. See the MHRA Style Guide §7.3. Citing Books, Chapters, and Literary Works (d) Citing the Bible (in Chapter 7 'References')
Roman numerals are used for the numbers of books of The Bible, Arabic numerals (separated by a full stop) for chapters and verses, as in the examples.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.
Format and examples
This is how to cite books of The Bible:
Footnote format: Title. Version (Chapter. Verse).
Footnote examples: The Bible. New International Version (Isaiah 22. 17).
The Bible. New International Version (ii Corinthians 5. 13–15)
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Bibliography examples:
If you've only cited one book:
The Bible. New International Version (Isaiah 22. 17)
To cite the whole source:
The Bible. New International Version
See MHRA Style Guide §7.10. Citing Theses and Other Unpublished Scholarship (in Chapter 7 'References')
In this section you can find out how to reference:
Guidance
*What's new?* The new MHRA official guidance states that you don't need to include the place of publication when referencing books and book chapters.
Authors and editors:
- In the footnote reference, the author name should be first name followed by surname, e.g. Dinah Roe. The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the first author in the bibliography reference, e.g. Roe, Dinah. Subsequent authors should be first name followed by surname.
- The name of an editor follows the title, using the format 'ed. by', as in the examples.
Titles:
- Put chapter title in single quotation marks and the book title in italics. Use book title as it appears on the title page.
- If the title of the chapter includes works of literature, these should be italicized or placed within double quotation marks to differentiate, for example Macbeth or ‘‘Hamlet’’.
Publication details:
- Include edition if not the first, in the form ‘2nd edn’, ‘rev. edn’ etc, preceded by a comma.
- If any publication details are not given in the source, use: ‘[n. pub.]’ (= no publisher), ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Page numbers: Include page range of chapter in the form ‘pp.’ in both footnote and bibliography references. Specify page cited in footnote references only.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.
For further tips and examples, see the MHRA Style Guide §7.3. Citing Books, Chapters, and Literary Works (b) Citing chapters in edited collections (in Chapter 7 'References')
Format and examples
*New format*
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Chapter Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Publisher, Year), pp. x-xx (p. x).
Footnote example: Nathaniel Leach, ‘Mary Shelley and the Godwinian Gothic: Matilda and Mandeville’, in Mary Shelley: Her Circle and Her Contemporaries, ed. by L. Adam Mekler and Lucy Morrison (Cambridge Scholars, 2010), pp. 63-82 (p. 66).
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In the bibliography reference, reverse the author name and omit the full stop.
Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Chapter Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Publisher, Year), pp. x-xx
Bibliography example: Leach, Nathaniel, ‘Mary Shelley and the Godwinian Gothic: Matilda and Mandeville’, in Mary Shelley: Her Circle and Her Contemporaries, ed. by L. Adam Mekler and Lucy Morrison (Cambridge Scholars, 2010), pp. 63-82
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Previous format: include place of publication before the publisher, for example:
Nathaniel Leach, ‘Mary Shelley and the Godwinian Gothic: Matilda and Mandeville’, in Mary Shelley: Her Circle and Her Contemporaries, ed. by L. Adam Mekler and Lucy Morrison (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars, 2010), pp. 63-82 (p. 66).
Scholarly and annotated editions of novels often include an introduction written by the editor or another author. Check the guidance on Referencing the introduction to a novel or other text
Guidance
Authors and editors:
- If you're using the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) there will not be an author, so start your reference with the definition, as in the example.
- If you're using a source from Oxford Reference Online, there will often be an author. In the footnote reference, the author name should be first name followed by surname. The bibliography needs to be arranged alphabetically by author surname, so always reverse the name of the first author in the bibliography reference Subsequent authors should be first name followed by surname.
Titles:
- Put definitions from the OED in single quotation marks and the dictionary title in italics. Put Entry before the word definition.
- Put the entry title from Oxford Reference Online in single quotation marks and the title of the reference book in italics.
Date:
- In the OED you can get the date the entry was last updated by clicking on the 'details' link at the top left.
- If no date is given in the source, use: ‘[n.d.]’ (= no date).
Access details: You only need to put the URL of the main website, not the exact URL for the entry, as in the examples.
Put a full stop at the end of footnote references, but not at the end of bibliography references.
For further guidance, see see the MHRA Style Guide §7.5. Citing Websites and Social Media (in Chapter 7 'References')
Format and examples
*New format*
Definition from the OED
Footnote format: Entry ‘word definition’, Title of Resource (Year) <URL> [accessed day month year].
Footnote example: Entry ‘befuddled’, Oxford English Dictionary (2023) <https://www.oed.com> [accessed 17 June 2024].
In the bibliography reference, reverse the author name and omit the full stop.
Reference book from Oxford Reference Online
Footnote format: Firstname Lastname, ‘Entry Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Year) <URL> [accessed day month year].
Footnote example: Arthur Cotterell, ‘Persephone’, in A Dictionary of World Mythology (2003) <https://www-oxfordreference-com> [accessed 17 June 2024].
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In the bibliography reference, reverse the author name and omit the full stop.
Bibliography format: Lastname, Firstname, ‘Entry Title’, in Book Title, ed. by Firstname Lastname (Year) <URL> [accessed day month year].
Bibliography example: Cotterell, Arthur, ‘Persephone’, in A Dictionary of World Mythology (2003) <https://www-oxfordreference> [accessed 17 June 2024]