Gullivers Travels exhibition comes to Belfast Central Library

Libraries NI is inviting visitors to Belfast Central Library to discover the remarkable history of one of literature’s most enduring works as the British Library’s exhibition exploring Gulliver’s Travels comes to Belfast.

The British Library Treasures on Tour display unit will be at Belfast Central Library from 25 September until 23 November 2026, giving visitors the opportunity to explore how Jonathan Swift’s famous work has been published, adapted and enjoyed by generations of readers.

First published in 1726, Gulliver’s Travels began life as a political satire. The first edition, published as Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World… by Lemuel Gulliver, featured a portrait of its fictional author, Gulliver, and coastline maps introducing the different regions encountered on his travels.

Over time, the story found a new audience as a popular children’s book. Gulliver’s adventures in Lilliput, with its tiny inhabitants, proved particularly appealing to younger readers and featured in the growing market for children’s books during the eighteenth century.

The exhibition also explores the story’s place in popular print culture, including its appearance in chapbooks – small, inexpensive publications containing popular stories which were carried and sold around the country by travelling booksellers.

Libraries NI Senior Services Manager, said:

“We are delighted to welcome this British Library exhibition to Belfast Central Library and to give people the opportunity to discover more about a book that has captured readers’ imaginations for generations.

“Gulliver’s Travels has had a fascinating journey of its own, from political satire to a story that became familiar to generations of younger readers. This exhibition is a chance to look beyond the story many of us think we know and explore how the book has changed, travelled and found new audiences over the past 300 years.”

Visitors will be able to explore material from the British Library’s collections through a specially commissioned digital display, including examples showing how Gulliver’s Travels changed from its origins as political satire to a story enjoyed by a much wider readership.

The exhibition is part of British Library on tour, generously supported by the Dorset Foundation, in memory of Harry M Weinreibe.