Reference Guide to World Literature

Book excerpt: This guide profiles 500 writers from around the world, and from the ancient Greeks up to the 20th century. All genres are covered (novelists, poets, dramatists, non-fiction writers), and there are essays on individual works, such as Madame Bovary, The Iliad, Remembrance of Things Past, Divine Comedy and The Suffering of Young Werther. Entries are arranged alphabetically, and include: a Who's Who-style biography; a complete list of critical studies; and a critical essay on the author or work. This edition includes 250 new entrants, including Simone de Beauvoir, Italo Calvino, Primo Levi, Cyrano de Bergerac and Samuel Beckett. Non-fiction writers covered include Nietzsche, Plato, Montaigne and Pascal.