Benet’s reader’s encyclopedia

by Bruce Murphy.
New York : HarperCollinsPublishers,  4th edition, c. 1996.

Entries explore all aspects of literature from around the world: biographies of
poets and playwrights, novelists and belletrists; plot synopses and character sketches
from important works; historical data on literary schools, movements, terms and
awards; myths and legends; and more. Completely revised and updated, this fourth
edition captures the diversity of todayʼs canon, with greater attention to
African-American, Eastern, Middle Eastern, African, South American, Eastern
European and womenʼs literature.

Over 10,000 informative entries, covering everything a reader could wish to know, including biographies of poets, playwrights, novelists, essayists and belletrists from around the world and through the ages, from Aristophanes to Toni Morrison, from Chuang Tzu to Juan Rulfo; plot summaries of important literary works, ranging from Beowulf to Wuthering Heights to Things Fall Apart; sketches of principal characters from literature, from Salome to Leopold Bloom; myth, legend and folklore, covering everything from Isis to the Midgard Serpentto to the paladins; biographies of artists, musicians, philosophers and other historical personages ranging from Roman emperors to U.S. presidents who figure prominently in literature; accounts of significant schools and movements in literature, such as the Bloomsbury Group and the Beat writers; original titles, as well as the most familiar English titles, for works in languages other than English and recipients of major literary awards, including Pulitzer and Nobel prize winners. From book cover.

Also available from Sno-Isle Libraries.