Victorian Literature
http://www.online-literature.com/periods/victorian.php
This post from The Literature Network gives a good overview of the main forces that went into shaping Victorian literature. The French Lieutenant's Woman covers many of the types of "upheaval" that are discussed in this post: social, scientific, religious, sexual, and so on. There is also a list of important writers of the period, many of who appear in The French Lieutenant's Woman.
Against “reading”: Text and/as other in John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant's Woman
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00497878.2001.9979393
This is a scholarly article that treats an important theme in The French Lieutenant's Woman: that of reading This could be a useful article to skim through, seeing as the theme of reading is nuanced in the novel - the reader is constantly made aware that he or she is reading a fiction, and the characters themselves read and write various things (Charles' poetry, Ernestina's diary, Mrs. Talbot's romantic fiction, Mrs. Poulteney's bible).
Sarah and Sappho: Lesbian reference in The French Lieutenant's Woman
http://search.proquest.com/docview/205340368?pq-origsite=summon
If you were surprised or perplexed by the subtle (and not-so-subtle) references to lesbianism in The French Lieutenant's Woman, this scholarly article may help to elucidate Fowles' treatment of female sexuality.
Fair or Fowles?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/oct/12/biography.johnfowles1
For those who are interested in Fowles' life and how it relates to his work, this interview - done shortly before his death - may shed some light on his background, his views on fiction and on feminism.
Is Darwinian Evolution Compatible with Free Will and Personal Responsibility?
http://www.discovery.org/a/9581
Darwinism and its many implications - social, existential, religious, scientific, and more - are arguably the main themes of The French Lieutenant's Woman. It would therefore pay to have a solid grasp of what Darwinism really is, and how it plays into the theme of freedom (again, one of the major focuses of the novel). This scholarly article is accessible, and has several other related links in the footnotes that may be worth reading.
