Genre Fiction, Reader's Guide to

Each generation revises literary history and this is nowhere more evident than in the post-Second World War period. This Companion offers a comprehensive, authoritative and accessible overview of the diversity of American fiction since the Second World War. Essays by nineteen distinguished scholars provide critical insights into the significant genres, historical contexts, cultural diversity and major authors during a period of enormous American global political and cultural power. This power is overshadowed, nevertheless, by national anxieties growing out of events ranging from the Civil Rights Movement to the rise of feminism; from the Cold War and its fear of Communism and nuclear warfare to the Age of Terror and its different yet related fears of the 'Other'. American fiction since 1945 has faithfully chronicled these anxieties. An essential reference guide, this Companion provides a chronology of the period, as well as guides to further reading.

Popular commercial fiction emerged in the nineteenth century, with serialised novels and sensational penny dreadfuls. Today it remains a multi-million dollar industry giving pleasure to many, but it is also a field of growing interest for scholars and students of literature. This Companion covers the major developments in the history of popular fiction, with specially commissioned chapters on pulp fiction, bestsellers, and comics and graphic narratives. The volume also examines the public and personal everyday contexts within which popular texts are read, highlighting the ways in which such narratives have circulated across a variety of constantly changing media, including theatre, television, cinema and new computer-based digital forms. Case studies from key genres - crime fiction, romance and Gothic horror - as well as a full chronology and guide to further reading make this collection indispensable to all those interested in this complex and vibrant cultural field.

Guide to wildly popular fiction throughout the ages, e.g., Animal Farm, A Clockwork Orange, Dune, Lord of the Flies, On the Road, Siddhartha, The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and many more.

Providing short biographies and critical analsyis (with plot summaries) of the works of fiction writers whose primary language is English.

Providing short biographies and critical analsyis (with plot summaries) of the works of fiction writers whose primary language is not English.

Provides brief critical analysis of the short fiction of 480 prominent authors. Also highlights their principal short fiction works and biographies.

From the publisher's note: "This comprehensive revised edition of Cyclopedia of literary characters combines all the titles from the original Cyclopedia of literary characters and from Cyclopedia of literary characters II ... adds character descriptions from titles included in Masterplots (revised second edition, 1996) and the Masterplots II sets covering African American literature (1994), women’s literature (1995), and American fiction (supplement, 1994) ... 3,300 titles [in all]."

From the cover: "The definitive guide to over 50,000 fictional characters from novels, poems, plays, and operas by British and American authors."

Trying to figure out who that literary figure is or what that fictional place is in real life? This dictionary will help identify the true people and places fictional people and places are based upon.

History and analysis of secular and religious apocalyptic literature.

This Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive guide yet both to the nature and content of literature, and to literary criticism. In ninety essays by leading international critics and scholars, the volume covers both traditional topics such as literature and history, poetry, drama and the novel, and also newer topics such as the production and reception of literature. Current critical ideas are clearly and provocatively discussed, while the volume's arrangement reflects in a dynamic way the rich diversity of contemporary thinking about literature.
Each essay seeks to provide the reader with a clear sense of the full significance of its subject as well as guidance on further reading.
An essential work of reference, The Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism is a stimulating guide to the central preoccupations of contemporary critical thinking about literature.
Special Features
* Clearly written by scholars and critics of international standing for readers at all levels in many disciplines
* In-depth essays covering all aspects, traditional and new, of literary studies past and present
* Useful cross-references within the text, with full bibliographical references and suggestions for further reading
* Single index of authors, terms, topics

From the preface: "[This book] is intended to guide the reader through the hallmarks of utopian and dystopian writing by stressing titles, authors, characters, setting, themes, literary styles, and belief systems." From Lau Tzu to Orwell, this encyclopedia spans numerous eras and places.

One of the leading authorities in readers' advisories. Covers all popular reading categories and their subgenres: historical fiction, westerns, crime fiction, adventure, romance, science fiction, fantasy, horror, Christian fiction, and emerging genres (women's fiction, chick lit).

From Booklist:

A catalog of fictional characters from 1719 to the present. Coverage includes characters from novels, poems, plays, short stories, opera, ballet, comic strips, songs, films, radio, television, and computer games. Coverage is limited to English-language characters or foreign characters well known in the English-speaking world. Pringle is a British librarian and the author of reference books dealing with science fiction. Imaginary People was originally published in 1987; this second edition has 100 new entries, raising the total to 1,400 characters. Previous entries have been rewritten, and updated material has been added to the text.

Genre fiction has always been a complex mixture of themes and elements. The increasing popularity of “genre blends,” or fiction that straddles the traditional labels, means greater pleasure for readers but a greater challenge for readers’ advisory. In this informative and entertaining book McArdle gets library staff up to speed on these engaging titles, showing how such crossover fiction appeals to fanbases of multiple genres. Complete with booklists, summaries, read-alikes, and thorough indexes, this guide:

- Covers suspense, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, and science fiction, as well as non-genre titles that don’t neatly fit into any categories
- Offers guidance for shelving, displaying, and marketing genre blends
- Shows how to make the most of online discovery tools in cataloging these titles
- Includes “Blend MVPs,” a section spotlighting several popular authors who regularly move between genres, and a useful bibliography of additional resources

2nd ed. Access chronological and alphabetical lists of short fiction writers and their works as well as a recommended reading list.