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The new edition of the Oxford Companion to English Literature, edited by novelist Margaret Drabble, is a superb, entirely updated reference work. The range is astonishing: As one would expect, it includes biographical entries for British poets and novelists from the earliest times to yesterday, but also reviews the work of philosophers, historians, journalists, scientists, scholars, artists and others who influenced British literature. And the biographical entries are not limited to Britain - there's one on Pynchon, another on Gunther Grass, one on Goethe, one on Rousseau, one on Dante, one on Descartes, etc etc. There are also entries that summarize major works in English literature, identify important characters from novels, define literary-critical terms. Periodically, there are longer essays on particular genres (children's lit, science fiction) or movements (romanticism, structuralism). The entries are informative and clear, and some are more entertaining that one expects from a standard reference work.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, December 30, 2006 at 07:37 AM
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1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
