The Oxford Companion to English Literature

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Since its original publication in 1932, this reference work has become essential for general readers, students, and specialists in English literature and culture. In 1985, Margaret Drabble led a complete revision, preserving the beloved characteristics of the original while updating its content. A subsequent revision in 1995 introduced sixty new entries on contemporary voices, and the latest edition continues this tradition by adding 16 survey articles on significant literary concepts, reinforcing its status as the most comprehensive and accessible guide to English literary culture. No other volume matches its extensive coverage of the classical roots of English literature and the European authors and works that have shaped it. The articles encompass not only authors and their works but also fictional characters, plot summaries, composers, artists, literary movements, historians, philosophers, scholars, as well as aspects of publishing history, literary societies, newspapers, periodicals, and critical theory. New topics include British Black Literature, Post-Colonial Literature, Spy Fiction, Structuralism, Fantasy Fiction, Children's Literature, and Ghost Stories. This revised edition provides the most thorough and current exploration of the diverse and captivating world of English literature.