Summary

Praise for the print edition:
"...no other reference work on American fiction brings together such an array of authors and texts as this. Recommended..."—Booklist, starred review

"Recommended."—Choice

"...this set's strength lies in its heavy inclusion of contemporary works and authors...Recommended..."—Library Journal

Encyclopedia of the American Novel, Second Edition examines the great American novel in all of its diversity. Coverage includes virtually every major novel and novelist in the United States from the late 1700s through the modern day—from literary classics to contemporary popular favorites to those less well known. More than 900 in-depth, A-to-Z entries help readers deepen their understanding of the American novel and its place in literary history. The depth and breadth of this updated encyclopedia are truly impressive.

Written in a clear, engaging style with contributions from literary scholars, this is the only reference work of its kind to analyze the American novel as a whole. A detailed introduction surveys the history of the American novel and discusses emerging trends.

Coverage includes:

• Author biographies
• Synopses and analyses of major novels
• Extended essays on major subjects, such as the African-American novel and mystery and detective novels.

Authors include:

• Louisa May Alcott
• Willa Cather
• Theodore Dreiser
• Jeffrey Eugenides
• F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Zora Neale Hurston
• Jack Kerouac
• Jack London
• Norman Mailer
• Toni Morrison
• Sylvia Plath
• Thomas Pynchon
• Ayn Rand
• Philip Roth
• Upton Sinclair
• John Steinbeck
• Amy Tan
• Gore Vidal.

Specifications

eBook

About the Author(s)

Abby H.P. Werlock is the author of the award-winning Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, named a RUSA/ALA "Outstanding Reference Source." She holds a D.Phil. in American studies from the University of Sussex and is an associate professor emerita of English, with a specialty in American literature, at St. Olaf College. She lives in Pennsylvania.