Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | R 813.009 DIC V. 1 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | R 813.009 DIC V. 2 | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A dictionary of characters from American literature. The two volumes cover more than two centuries of characters, from 1789, the date of the first American novel, through to the 20th century. There are more than 16,000 entries - over 5000 more than in the previous edition -spanning a broad scope of contemporary popular fiction, including characters from dozens of American novels published since 1980. Drawn from award-winning, best-selling and critically-acclaimed works, each entry identifies the novel in which the character appears and summarizes the character's role and relationship to other characters in the novel. This edition also includes indices that allow readers to search for information by title and author.
Reviews (3)
Booklist Review
New edition offers over 5,000 more entries, for a total in excess of 16,000. Among the additions are characters from selected works by Louise Erdrich, Stephen King, Larry McMurtry, and Toni Morrison, among others. Also new is a title index. RBB.
Choice Review
The publication of a comprehensive dictionary of literary characters would be a costly, multivolume undertaking. This may explain why no such work currently exists. For this one-volume dictionary, 273 contributors submitted descriptions of "major characters in significant novels--in addition to those in some uncelebrated novels and in a sampling of best sellers--from William Hill Brown's The Power of Sympathy (1789) through 1979." Dramatic characters are excluded. No definitions either of "significant novels" or of "major characters" are provided, and the selection of novels and characters therefore appears arbitrary. Not all characters in any particular novel are included nor are all novels by any particular author. Both the informational value and the length of individual entries vary considerably. An 80-page index by novelists lists characters included from each novel covered. This index makes the dictionary more useful but cannot compensate for the limitations described. This work therefore cannot be recommended except for libraries that receive many queries about literary characters. Continued reliance on the Oxford Companion to American Literature for coverage of characters in canonical novels will have to suffice until the appearance of either a comprehensive database or a multivolume work that offers more satisfactory coverage of literary characters. -E. J. Carpenter, Oberlin College
Library Journal Review
Covering the years between 1789 and 1980, this chunky, purely functional volume lists alphabetically more than 11,000 American literary characters taken from significant popular novels as well as from the works of the major authors. Entries are brief (approximately 20 words) and meticulously objective. Also included are such series characters as Charlie Chan and Tarzan. A three-level index lists the authors represented, their novels, and the characters themselves. Though one of a kind, this book promises to help only the occasional reader who has run across an unfamiliar American literary character.-- Charles C. Nash, Cottey Coll., Nevada (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Praise for the previous edition: Some 11,000 alphabetical entries offer ready reference to significant characters in American novels.--Book News ...meticulously objective...one of a kind.--Library Journal One of the most comprehensive works of its kind, Dictionary of American Literary Characters, Second Edition provides up-to-date coverage spanning more than two centuries of characters, from 1789, the date of the first American novel, through the 20th century. Now in two volumes, this resource contains more than 16,000 entries--over 5,000 more than in the previous edition--covering a wide range of classic and contemporary American fiction. Volume I covers works published from 1789 through 1960; Volume II covers 1961 through 2000. Drawn from award-winning, best-selling, and critically acclaimed works, each entry identifies the novel in which the character appears and summarizes the characters role and relationship to other characters in the novel. This edition also includes indexes that allow readers to search for information by title and author. In addition to the thousands of entries from the previous edition--identifying such immortal characters as Hester Prynne, Huckleberry Finn, Natty Bumppo, Ahab, Jo March, and Bigger Thomas--this edition adds characters from a broad selection of novels published since 1979, from the literary to the mass-market. New and revised coverage includes: The Accidental Tourist Beloved Tom Clancy Devil in a Blue Dress John Grisham Ernest Hemingway The Joy Luck Club Stephen King Larry McMurtry Rabbit at Rest Schindler's List Amy Tan Underworld Tom Wolfe. Excerpted from Dictionary of American Literary Characters All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
