The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature (Oxford Quick Reference) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199608210 ISBN 13: 9780199608218

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Based on the bestselling Oxford Companion to English Literature, this is an indispensable, compact guide to all aspects of English literature. Over 5,500 new and revised alphabetical entries give unrivaled coverage of writers, works, historical context, literary theory, allusions, characters, and plot summaries. The entries range from brief identifications of fictional characters to fascinating and informative articles that cover such topics as major authors, key literary works, and major genres in fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, biography, and crime fiction.

For this fourth edition, the dictionary has been fully revised and updated to include expanded coverage of postcolonial, African, black British, and children's literature, as well as improved representation in the areas of science fiction, biography, travel literature, women's writing, gay and lesbian writing, and American literature. The appendices listing literary prize winners--including the Nobel, Man Booker, and Pulitzer prizes--have all been updated and there is also a timeline, chronicling the development of English literature from c. 1000 to the present day. Many entries feature recommended web links, which are listed and regularly updated on a dedicated companion website.

Written originally by a team of more than 140 distinguished authors and extensively updated for this new edition, this book provides an essential point of reference for English students, teachers, and all other readers of literature in English.

About this title

About the Author:

Dinah Birch is a Professor of English Literature, University of Liverpool. She has published widely on nineteenth-century literature, and has edited novels by Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, and Elizabeth Gaskell. Her books include Ruskin's Myths, Ruskin on Turner, and Our Victorian Education.

Katy Hooper is a Special Collections Librarian at the University of Liverpool Library and Assistant Editor for The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Seventh Edition.

Review:

Praise for previous editions:

"Beautifully organized, replete with valuable information, and small enough to be easily handled, this inexpensive paperback volume is an ideal reference book."
--Charlotte Lindgren, American Reference Books Annual

"This is a scrupulously produced, smartly laid-out, academically serious and at the same time relishably browsable book."
--Henry Hitchings, The Times Literary Supplement

"It offers companionable assistance; it's your pal in literary need."
--John Sutherland, Sunday Times

"No guide could come more classic than The Oxford Companion to English Literature...the literary reference source of first resort...indispensable."
--Malcolm Bradbury, The Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0199608210
• ISBN 13: 9780199608218
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 815
• Editor: Birch Dinah, Hooper Katy