RUSA Best Reference
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title
Booklist Editor's Choice

Description

From folk ballads to film scripts, this new five-volume encyclopedia covers the entire history of British literature from the seventh century to the present, focusing on the writers and the major texts of what are now the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In five hundred substantial essays written by major scholars, the Encyclopedia of British Literature includes biographies of nearly four hundred individual authors and a hundred topical essays with detailed analyses of particular themes, movements, genres, and institutions whose impact upon the writing or the reading of literature was significant.
An ideal companion to The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature , this set will prove invaluable for students, scholars, and general readers.
For more information, including a complete table of contents and list of contributors, please visit www.oup.com/us/ebl

Features

• 500+ bibliographic and topical articles
• Alphabetical arrangement for easy reference
• 200 illustrations
• All articles signed by noted scholars and critics
• Annotated bibliographies after every article
• Cross-references
• Comprehensive index
• Chronology of British literature

Reviews

"Entries are written by recognized experts and are authoritative accounts that reflect current scholarship....This comprehensive encyclopedia is an outstanding resource for scholarly information about British writers, works, and literary movements. Highly recommended. ."-Philip Charles Crawford, March 2007 Library Media Connection , starred review

"The editor's decisions regarding writers and works for inclusion reflect an academic focus and a penchant for the esoteric.... The most valuable aspect of thenew Oxford offering may well be its substantive coverage of topics and themes related to British literature.... Highly recommended."--Booklist, Starred Review

"This massive work contains more than 500 alphabetically arranged, signed articles covering 1400 years of British literature.... A vast and valuable resource."--School Library Journal

"Occupies its own niche.... A worthy choice."--Against the Grain

"The editors of this five-volume encyclopedia chose a lofty aim: to provide readers with a history of British literature in English. They have surpassed that goal with this fine work.... This well-written encyclopedia, though scholarly, is readable enough for the general-interest researcher.... Recommended for public and academic libraries."--Library Journal

Product Details

2656 pages; 168 halftones; 8-1/2 x 11; ISBN13: 978-0-19-516921-8ISBN10: 0-19-516921-2

About the Author(s)