From Booklist
First published as The Cambridge Guide to English Literature in 1983, The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English was last published in 1988. This new edition has been considerably revised. As with the previous editions, its scope extends beyond the United Kingdom and Ireland and beyond the traditional English-literature syllabus to include the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, India, Australia, and New Zealand.There are entries for writers; individual works; literary groups or schools, such as the Bloomsbury Group; wider literary movements, such as Romanticism; schools of criticism, such as New Criticism; genres and subgenres; poetic forms; critical concepts and literary terms; and important theaters and magazines. Years of birth and death are provided for authors, as well as a few words classifying the authors' fields of endeavor, such as "poet" or "critic." Entries range in length from three or four lines to several pages. The entry Libraries, for example, is six pages in length and is subdivided into sections on libraries in the British Isles, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa and Asia.This edition shows evidence of substantial changes. In the As alone, there are at least 12 new entries, including those for Australian poet Robert Adamson, American novelist Lisa Alther, Anthills of the Savannah, and "archetypal criticism." A small number of entries have been deleted; in some cases, entries have been made shorter by slightly revising the prose. Several entries, such as those for Chinua Achebe and Maya Angelou, have been completely rewritten; others, such as those for Martin Amis and Margaret Atwood, have been brought up-to-date. Other changes include providing more categories for authors (e.g., in the earlier edition Auden was described only as a poet; now he is described as a poet, playwright, and critic) and changing the way in which titles are listed (e.g., The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is now listed as Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of). Finally, many illustrations have been revised. The picture of Jane Austen has been dropped, a photograph of Chinua Achebe has been added, the photo of Kingsley Amis has been replaced with one more recent.The only comparable single-volume guides are those published by Oxford University Press, such as The Oxford Companion to English Literature and The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Though they cover each national literature in more detail, the Oxford companions have not been as recently revised. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English, like its companion, The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre, provides relatively current coverage with a multicultural view. It is recommended for most libraries.
Review
"This edition shows evidence of substantial changes. In the A's alone,there are at least 12 new entries...provides relatively current coverage with a multicultural view. It is recommended for most libraries." Booklist
"Overall, the book, which has an attractive format, is a good literary reference for the general reader." American Reference Books Annual
"...a comprehensive single-volume examination which should prove a reference standard in any college-level library....A highly recommended, basic reference." Diane C. Donovan, The Midwest Book Review
"Coverage of contemporary African, Indian, and Australian literature is particularly commendable." B. Juhl, Choice
"The Cambridge Guide is more up to date (The most recent Oxford Companion is the 5th edition of 1985)....A useful ready-reference tool for finding such information as birth and death dates and nationalities of authors, titles and summaries of major works, or definitions of literary terms or genres." Sarah Hayne Fitzsimmons, School Library Journal
Book Description
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English provides, in a single volume, the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of literature in English available today. Substantially enlarged and updated for this new edition, it covers all the major novelists, poets, and dramatists of the classical canon and of contemporary literature, from Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, and Conrad to Saul Bellow, Adrienne Rich, Les Murray, Wole Soyinka, R.K. Narayan, Janet Frame, Mordecai Richler, Joseph Brodsky, and John Coetzee. Unique among literature guides, this volume provides extensive, multicultural coverage of all literature written in English, including Indian, Caribbean, Australian, African, Canadian, and Irish, as well as British and American. More than one hundred specialist contributors provide biographical and critical articles on writers and their works, critics, philosophers, historians, and biographers. Substantial coverage is also given to such literary genres as popular fiction, science fiction, detective novels and children's classics. Literary concepts such as structuralism, tragedy, and irony are described, and full explanations are provided for movements from neoclassicism to postmodernism. Hailed in its first edition as "indispensable" and "path-breaking" (Los Angeles Times), and for having "immense browsability" (Anthony Burgess) and "breadth of vision" (The Guardian), this new edition of The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English is the definitive handbook to the vast, diverse, and extraordinarily rich heritage of English literature.
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English FROM THE PUBLISHER
Substantially enlarged and updated, this new edition of The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English confirms its status as the most authoritative survey of its subject now available in a single volume. Its coverage of novelists, poets, playwrights and their works embraces both the established classics of English literature and a wealth of contemporary figures from all over the English-speaking world, such as Saul Bellow, Adrienne Rich, Les Murray, Wole Soyinka, R. K. Narayan, Janet Frame, Mordecai Richler, Joseph Brodsky, J. M. Coetzee and Ben Okri. Under Ian Ousby's editorship over a hundred contributors provide detailed biographical and critical articles, not only about writers and works of literature, but also about the critics, philosophers, historians and biographers who have influenced or reacted to literature. Substantial coverage is given to popular genres such as science fiction, detective novels and children's literature, with entries on, for example, Dr. Seuss, Margaret Mahy, Roald Dahl, Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, P. D. James and Nicolas Freeling. Other entries range widely over literary groups and movements, critical schools, genres, poetic forms, critical concepts, rhetorical terms, literary terms, theatres and theatre companies. There are also substantive articles on subjects such as copyright, libraries and the English language. With a superb range of illustrations and a comprehensive cross-referencing system, The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English is both an outstanding reference book, and a delightful companion for anyone who enjoys reading.
FROM THE CRITICS
BookList
First published as "The Cambridge Guide to English Literature" in 1983, "The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English" was last published in 1988. This new edition has been considerably revised. As with the previous editions, its scope extends beyond the United Kingdom and Ireland and beyond the traditional English-literature syllabus to include the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, India, Australia, and New Zealand
There are entries for writers; individual works; literary groups or schools, such as the Bloomsbury Group; wider literary movements, such as Romanticism; schools of criticism, such as New Criticism; genres and subgenres; poetic forms; critical concepts and literary terms; and important theaters and magazines. Years of birth and death are provided for authors, as well as a few words classifying the authors' fields of endeavor, such as "poet" or "critic." Entries range in length from three or four lines to several pages. The entry "Libraries", for example, is six pages in length and is subdivided into sections on libraries in the British Isles, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa and Asia
This edition shows evidence of substantial changes. In the "A"s alone, there are at least 12 new entries, including those for Australian poet Robert Adamson, American novelist Lisa Alther, "Anthills of the Savannah", and "archetypal criticism." A small number of entries have been deleted; in some cases, entries have been made shorter by slightly revising the prose. Several entries, such as those for Chinua Achebe and Maya Angelou, have been completely rewritten; others, such as those for Martin Amis and Margaret Atwood, have been brought up-to-date. Other changes include providing more categories for authors (e.g., in the earlier edition Auden was described only as a poet; now he is described as a poet, playwright, and critic) and changing the way in which titles are listed (e.g., "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is now listed as "Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of"). Finally, many illustrations have been revised. The picture of Jane Austen has been dropped, a photograph of Chinua Achebe has been added, the photo of Kingsley Amis has been replaced with one more recent
The only comparable single-volume guides are those published by Oxford University Press, such as "The Oxford Companion to English Literature" and "The Oxford Companion to American Literature". Though they cover each national literature in more detail, the Oxford companions have not been as recently revised. "The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English", like its companion, "The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre", provides relatively current coverage with a multicultural view. It is recommended for most libraries.
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