Literary Research Guide/L

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Literary Research Guide
by James L. Harner

Genres

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2504347Literary Research Guide — GenresJames L. Harner

Genres

Only works that encompass more than one national literature are included here. Works limited to a single literature are listed in the genre portion of national literature sections. All the guides to scholarship and criticism in this section should be supplemented by the serial bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts in section G.

General

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L820

Ruttkowski, Wolfgang. Bibliographie der Gattungspoetik für den Studenten der Literaturwissenschaft: Ein abgekürztes Verzeichnis von über 3,000 Büchern, Dissertationen, und Zeitschriftenartikeln in Deutsch, Englisch, und Französisch / Bibliography of the Poetics of Literary Genres for the Student of Literature: A Short-Title Catalogue of More than 3,000 Books, Dissertations, and Articles in English, French, and German / Bibliographie de la poétique des genres littéraires pour l’étudiant de la littérature: Une bibliographie de plus que 3,000 livres, thèses, et articles en français, en allemand, et en anglais. München: Hueber, 1973. 246 pp. Z6511.R86.

A selective bibliography of studies on genres and forms. Ruttkowski emphasizes English, French, and German publications from 1940 to 1970 but includes, albeit unsystematically, earlier studies as well as works in other European languages. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author in three sections: literary dictionaries containing articles on genres, general and multiple genre studies, and works on particular genres. Since the last section is classified by German terminology for genres and forms, use of the trilingual genre index is mandatory. Many entries are taken from other bibliographies; both selection and classification seem based primarily on title keywords; and the extensive use of abbreviations, especially in titles, requires constant reference to the list of abbreviations. Two indexes: genres (which indexes only the classified section on individual forms and genres); authors. Although the work is uneven in coverage, inadequately subject-indexed, and now badly dated—given the attention accorded genre study since 1970—Ruttkowski provides the most extensive list of studies on genres and forms, and thus offers a convenient starting point for research.

Fiction

General

Bibliographies of Bibliographies

L833

Hartman, Donald K., and Jerome Drost, comps. Themes and Settings in Fiction: A Bibliography of Bibliographies. New York: Greenwood, 1988. 223 pp. Bibliogs. and Indexes in World Lit. 14. Z5916.H28 [PN3353] 016.01680883′93.

An annotated bibliography of English-language bibliographies (published 1900–87) of themes, topics, persons, or places treated in adult fiction, regardless of language or publication date. Included are books, parts of books, articles, review essays, and dissertations that refer to more than five works of fiction by two or more authors. The 1,412 entries are divided among three sequences, each organized alphabetically by author, editor, or title of anonymous work: sources covering several themes or settings; bibliographies devoted to a single theme, person, topic, or setting; and works published 1986–87. Accompanying each entry is a brief, but generally adequate, description of the subject or person treated. Two indexes: joint authors; subjects (which would benefit from more thorough cross-referencing). Although Hartman overlooks several bibliographies, it is an essential starting point for identifying fictional treatments of persons, places, or subjects.

Guides to Primary Works

L835

Fiction Core Collection. Ed. John Greenfieldt. 16th ed. New York: Wilson, 2010. 1,307 pp. Core Collection Ser. Annual supplements. Z5916.F5 [PN3451] 016.80883. (Former title: Fiction Catalog.) <http://www.ebscohost.com>. Updated monthly.

A highly selective author, title, and subject index to approximately 11,300 English-language works (including translations). Although emphasizing novels, Fiction Core Collection includes some short story and novella collections. Pt. 1 is an author catalog, and entries include publication information; plot summary or list of contents; and extracts from reviews, literary dictionaries, or a publisher’s description. Pt. 2 is a title and subject index. Designed as a selection aid for libraries and thus emphasizing established authors, Fiction Core Collection is useful to the literary researcher needing to identify novels about a topic or representing a genre or literary form. Earlier editions cite works subsequently dropped. The online version uses a modified version of the EBSCO search interface (I512).

A useful complement for works published since 1945 is Cumulated Fiction Index, 1945–1960, comp. G. B. Cotton and Alan Glencross (London: Assn. of Assistant Librarians, 1960; 552 pp.); 1960–1969, comp. Raymond Ferguson Smith (1970; 307 pp.); 1970–1974, comp. Smith and Antony John Gordon (1975; 192 pp.); 1975–1979, comp. Marilyn E. Hicken (1980; 225 pp.); 1980–1989, comp. Hicken (1990; 495 pp.); 1990–1994, comp. Hicken (1996; 269 pp.); 1995–1999, comp. Hicken ([London?]: Career Dev. Group–The Lib. Assn., [2000?]; 194 pp.). Fiction Index, [1945–95]: A Guide to Works of Fiction Available during the Year and Not Previously Indexed in the Fiction Index Series (Halifax: Career Dev. Group, 1952–98)—the annual supplements between cumulations—ceased with the volume covering 1995. Although Cumulated Fiction Index covers more titles than Fiction Core Collection, many subject headings are vague, the criteria governing selection are unclear, and entries unhelpfully cite only author and abbreviated title.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

See

ABELL (G340): [English] Literature/General through the volume for 1967; Literature, General/Literary History/Fiction, and Literature, General/Literary Criticism/Fiction in the volumes for 1968–72; Literary History and Criticism/Fiction in the volume for 1973; and English Literature/General/Fiction in later volumes.

“Check List of Explication” (L1255a).

MLAIB (G335): General VII: Literature, General and Comparative in the volumes for 1953–55; General II: Literature, General and Comparative in the volume for 1956; General IV/Prose Fiction in the volumes for 1957–80; and the Literary Forms division and Genres/Fiction section in pt. 4 of the later volumes. Researchers must also check the “Fiction” heading in the subject index to post-1980 volumes and in the online thesaurus.

Gothic and Horror Fiction

Many works in section L: Genres/Fiction/Science and Fantasy Fiction are useful for research in horror fiction.

Guides to Reference Works

See

Burgess and Bartle, Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (L952).

Guides to Primary Works

L860

Bleiler, Everett F. The Guide to Supernatural Fiction: A Full Description of 1,775 Books from 1750 to 1960, Including Ghost Stories, Weird Fiction, Stories of Supernatural Horror, Fantasy, Gothic Novels, Occult Fiction, and Similar Literature. Kent: Kent State UP, 1983. 723 pp. PN56.S8 B57 809.3′937.

A collection of summaries of about 7,200 stories. Books are organized by author, editor, or title of anonymous work, then chronologically by publication date, with a separate summary for each story within a collection. Most summaries conclude with a brief evaluative comment. Three indexes: motifs and story types; persons; titles. Offering fuller but less discriminating coverage than Tymn, Horror Literature (below), Bleiler is primarily valuable for its extensive indexing of motifs and story types.

The following are useful complements to Bleiler:

Barron, Neil, ed. Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide to Literature, Illustration, Film, TV, Radio, and the Internet (L1015a). A revision of Barron, ed., Fantasy Literature: A Reader’s Guide (L1015a), and Barron, ed., Horror Literature: A Reader’s Guide (L1015a), this copies the format, organization, and indexing of Barron, Anatomy of Wonder (L1015), and cites many of the same reference works (updating information where necessary). Judicious in its selection and evaluation, Fantasy and Horror is the best selective guide to primary works and scholarship.
Frank, Frederick S. The First Gothics: A Critical Guide to the English Gothic Novel. New York: Garland, 1987. 496 pp. Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 710. Offers extensive summaries of 500 representative English Gothic romances from 1764 to the 1820s.
———. Through the Pale Door: A Guide to and through the American Gothic. New York: Greenwood, 1990. 338 pp. Bibliogs. and Indexes in Amer. Lit. 11. Provides a critical synopsis (along with a list of reprints and studies) of 509 Gothic novels and short stories from 1786 through 1988. Concludes with a chronology, a bibliography of general studies, and three indexes: persons; titles; themes, motifs, events, and characters. Review: Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV, Resources for American Literary Study 21 (1995): 286–89.
Summers, Montague. A Gothic Bibliography. London: Fortune, 1941. 620 pp. Although notoriously unreliable, Summers does include some works not in Bleiler.
Tymn, Marshall B., ed. Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide. New York: Bowker, 1981. 559 pp. A selective guide to primary works and research materials in Gothic and horror literature through the late 1970s. Although the incomplete, poorly organized chapters on criticism and reference works have been superseded by Barron, Horror Literature (above), Tymn remains useful to the literary researcher for its annotated lists of major primary works.

Far inferior to the preceding is Elsa J. Radcliffe, Gothic Novels of the Twentieth Century: An Annotated Bibliography (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1979; 272 pp.), which is too inconsistent, idiosyncratic, and error-ridden to recommend to researchers.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

Serial Bibliographies

See

ABELL (G340): [English] Literature/General through the volume for 1967; Literature, General/Literary History/Fiction, and Literature, General/Literary Criticism/Fiction in the volumes for 1968–72; Literary History and Criticism/Fiction in the volume for 1973; and English Literature/General/Fiction in later volumes.

MLAIB (G335): General VII: Literature, General and Comparative in the volumes for 1953–55; General II: Literature, General and Comparative in the volume for 1956; General IV/Prose Fiction in the volumes for 1957–80; and Genres/Fiction/Gothic Fiction, Genres/Fiction/Horror Fiction, Genres/Novel/Gothic Novel, and Genres/Escape Literature/Horror Literature sections in pt. 4 of the later volumes. Researchers must also check the headings beginning “Gothic” and “Horror” in the subject index to post-1980 volumes and in the online thesaurus.

Other Bibliographies

L875

Frank, Frederick S. Guide to the Gothic: An Annotated Bibliography of Criticism. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1984. 421 pp. Guide to the Gothic II: An Annotated Bibliography of Criticism, 1983–1993. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1995. 523 pp. Guide to the Gothic III: An Annotated Bibliography of Criticism, 1994–2003. 2 vols. 2005. Z5917.G66 F7 [PN3435] 016.8093′872.

Davison, Carol Margaret, ed. The Sickly Taper: A Bibliography of Gothic Scholarship. University of Windsor. Dept. of English Lang., Lit, and Creative Writing, U of Windsor, n.d. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thesicklytaper.com/INDEX.html>.

Guide to the Gothic is a descriptively annotated guide to criticism from 1900 to 1982. The approximately 2,500 entries are organized in classified divisions for bibliographies, national literatures (English, American, Canadian, French, and German, with sections for individual authors listed chronologically), and subjects (e.g., parodies, vampire, death by spontaneous combustion, film). Two indexes: critics; authors, artists, actors.

Guide to the Gothic II is both a sequel to and expansion of its parent volume. The 1,547 entries, which offer fuller, more evaluative annotations, are organized in divisions for reference works, general studies, English literature (in which Canadian writers are inexplicably included), American writers, other national literatures, and subjects. Two indexes: critics; authors and titles of Gothic fiction.

Guide to the Gothic III continues the preceding but wastes an inordinate amount of paper by including short entries for the 4,055 entries in its predecessors. With one exception, the 1,651 new entries are organized in the same divisions as Gothic II: Canadian literature has its own division. Users should note that each volume, inexplicably, is indexed separately by critics and authors or by titles of Gothic fiction. Despite these quirks (and the italicization of authors of dissertations and theses), Gothic III continues to offer full, evaluative annotations (the value of which are compromised by the lack of a subject index).

Some additional studies through 1987 are listed in Frank, Gothic Fiction: A Master List of Twentieth Century Criticism and Research (Westport: Meckler, 1988; 193 pp.; Meckler’s Bibliographies on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror 3), which rearranges entries (minus annotations) from Guide to the Gothic (without, of course, acknowledging its ancestry).

The citations (but not the annotations) in the three volumes of Guide to the Gothic are collected and augmented through 2007 in Sickly Taper, which generally follows Frank’s organization. Many entries in the alphabetical list lack a full citation, and the static Web pages must be searched through a browser’s find function.

A necessary complement is Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV, The Gothic’s Gothic: Study Aids to the Tradition of the Tale of Terror (New York: Garland, 1988; 485 pp.; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 567). Emphasizing British and American writers, Fisher includes much nineteenth-century criticism; is more thorough than Frank in covering many authors and topics; offers brief evaluations in many annotations; and provides indexes of subjects, scholars, and titles of literary works. Users will, however, regret the ill-advised decisions to exclude a number of important studies because they appear in other bibliographies of the Gothic and to conclude with 1977 because of the presence of “Bibliography of Gothic Studies, [1978–80],” published in or as a supplement to Gothic (which appeared irregularly between 1979 and 1987 and is not widely held). Review: James P. Carson, South Central Review 7.1 (1990): 81–83.

Guide to the Gothic, Guide to the Gothic II, Guide to the Gothic III, Gothic Fiction, Sickly Taper, and Gothic’s Gothic must be used together for any extensive study of literary Gothicism.

Historical Fiction

Guides to Primary Works

There is no adequate general guide to historical fiction; the following are the best reference sources available.

L885

Baker, Ernest A. A Guide to Historical Fiction. London: Routledge; New York: Macmillan, 1914. 566 pp. Z5917.H6 B2 016.80883′81.

A selective guide, arranged by chronological periods within country divisions, mainly to novels in English (including translations). The bulk of the entries are devoted to British, American, and French history. The summary annotations are frequently quite full. Indexed by authors, titles, and subjects. Like Nield, Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales (L900), Baker is dated but still useful for its subject indexing.

L890

Adamson, Lynda G. American Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. Phoenix: Oryx, 1999. 405 pp. Z1231.F4 D47 [PS374.H5] 016.813′08109.

A selective guide to 3,387 English-language novels published through 1998 and depicting some aspect of American history. Classified by historical period, entries include a one-sentence summary that outlines the plot and identifies major characters, locale, any sequels or prequels, and series; a list of awards; and an indication of genre. Many of the summaries are apparently based on a review or publisher’s description. Appendixes list books by award and works suitable for young adults. Five indexes: authors; titles; genres; locales; subjects. Although lacking an adequate explanation of the criteria governing selection, Adamson is valuable for its indexing, which allows identification by ethnic group, geographic location, historical figure or event, and genre.

Although American Historical Fiction is cataloged as a revised and expanded edition of Virginia Brokaw Gerhardstein, Dickinson’s American Historical Fiction, 5th ed. (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1986; 352 pp.), Adamson omits many titles included by Gerhardstein. Some additional works on American history are listed in the following:

Coan, Otis W., and Richard G. Lillard. America in Fiction: An Annotated List of Novels That Interpret Aspects of Life in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 5th ed. Palo Alto: Pacific, 1967. 232 pp. A selective guide to English-language novels, volumes of short stories, and folklore collections that treat some aspect of American life. Other than a preference for “substantial, realistic books over those that are romantic or sentimental or melodramatic or that merely broke ground,” criteria governing selection are vague. Works are listed by author in seven variously classified divisions: pioneering, farm and village life, industrial America, politics and institutions, religion, minority ethnic groups, and Mexico. A brief descriptive annotation accompanies each entry. Indexed by authors.
VanDerhoof, Jack. A Bibliography of Novels Related to American Frontier and Colonial History. Troy: Whitston, 1971. 501 pp. Although VanDerhoof offers more thorough coverage of novels treating colonial and frontier history, the lack of subject classification or indexing means that a user must search all 6,439 entries to locate works on a particular topic.

L895

Adamson, Lynda G. World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. Phoenix: Oryx, 1999. 719 pp. Z5917.H6 A33 [PN3377.5.H57] 016.80883′81.

A selective guide to 6,116 English-language novels published, for the most part, after 1972 and treating historical events outside the United States (which is covered in Adamson, American Historical Fiction [L890]). Entries are organized by time period (prehistory and the ancient world; Roman empire—with each subdivided by geographic area) or by geographic area (subdivided by chronological period); within each subdivision, novels are listed alphabetically by author. Entries include a one-sentence summary that outlines the plot and identifies major characters, locale, any sequels or prequels, and series; a list of awards; and an indication of genre. Many of the summaries are apparently based on a review or publisher’s description. Appendixes list books by award and works suitable for young adults. Five indexes: authors; titles; genres; locales and time periods; subjects. Although lacking an adequate explanation of the criteria governing selection, Adamson is valuable for its indexing, which allows identification by time period, geographic location, historical figure or event, and genre.

A good complement to Adamson is Sarah L. Johnson, Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (Westport: Libs. Unlimited–Greenwood, 2005; 813 pp.; Genreflecting Advisory Ser.), and Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre (2009; 739 pp.; Genrelecting Advisory Ser.), which cover c. 6,500 English-language titles or series written for adults and published, for the most part, in the United States between 1995 and mid-2008. Entries are organized by subgenre (e.g., traditional historical novels, sagas, historical novels of the American West, literary historical novels, and Christian historical fiction), then by subcategories or themes. Annotations are typically fuller than is usual for guides to historical fiction. Four indexes: authors, titles, series; historical characters; places and times; subjects.

For books published before 1972, Daniel D. McGarry and Sarah Harriman White, World Historical Fiction Guide: An Annotated, Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Selected Historical Novels, 2nd ed. (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1973; 629 pp.), remains of some use. However, the one-sentence annotations are frequently inaccurate and rarely provide an adequate sense of content.

L900

Nield, Jonathan. A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales. 5th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1929. 424 pp. Z5917.H6 N6 016.80883′81.

A chronological guide, largely devoted to novels in English (including translations). Entries do not provide complete bibliographical information, but the succinct summaries clearly delineate content. Includes a brief bibliography of publications on historical fiction. Three indexes: authors; titles; subjects. Like Baker, Guide to Historical Fiction (L885), Nield is dated but still useful for its subject indexing.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

See

ABELL (G340): [English] Literature/General through the volume for 1967; Literature, General/Literary History/Fiction, and Literature, General/Literary Criticism/Fiction in the volumes for 1968–72; Literary History and Criticism/Fiction in the volume for 1973; and English Literature/General/Fiction in later volumes.

Inge, Handbook of American Popular Literature (U6295a).

MLAIB (G335): General VII: Literature, General and Comparative in the volumes for 1953–55; General II: Literature, General and Comparative in the volume for 1956; General IV/Prose Fiction in the volumes for 1957–80; and the Genres/Fiction/Historical Fiction and Genres/Novel/Historical Novel sections in pt. 4 of the later volumes. Researchers must also check the “Historical Fiction” and “Historical Novel” headings in the subject index to post-1980 volumes and in the online thesaurus.

Mystery Fiction

Guides to Reference Works

L903

Bleiler, Richard J. Reference and Research Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction. 2nd ed. Westport: Libs. Unlimited–Greenwood, 2004. 828 pp. Reference Sources in the Humanities Ser. Z5917.D5 B59 [PN3448.D4] 016.80883′872.

An evaluative guide to print and electronic reference works (published by 2002) devoted to mystery and detective fiction, with chapters on dictionaries and encyclopedias, general guides and genre or theme bibliographies, general bibliographies and library catalogs, national bibliographies, geographic guides, lists of awards, bibliographies of publishers, indexes to magazines and anthologies (with a guide to where specific magazines are indexed), biographical resources, author bibliographies, character indexes, bibliographies of secondary studies, cataloging guides, studies of artists, calendars, directories of booksellers and publishers, guides to quotations, electronic sources, and current periodicals. The full annotations thoroughly describe works; most welcome are the uncompromisingly frank, authoritative evaluations—a feature noticeably absent from most reference works of this kind. Indexed by authors and titles (but, unfortunately, not by subjects). An appendix indexes entries for writers in the biographical dictionaries and handbooks listed by Bleiler (and cites selected author Web sites). Although some chapters would benefit from a hierarchical, rather than alphabetical, organization, Reference and Research Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction—based on an intimate knowledge of the works listed—is the essential first source for anyone engaged in more than cursory research in the field.

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L905

Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing. Ed. Rosemary Herbert. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 535 pp. PN3488.D4 H37 809.3′872′03. Online through Oxford Reference (I530).

An encyclopedia of canonical authors, characters and character types, works, genres and forms, national traditions, geographic settings, conventions, themes, and other topics that emphasizes English-language crime and mystery writing. The signed entries tend to be fuller than those in the typical Oxford Companion; most include cross-references and suggestions for additional reading. Concludes with a glossary and an index of names of persons and characters. In Reference and Research Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction (L903), Bleiler calls this the best encyclopedia in the field.

Guides to Primary Works

L910

Stephensen-Payne, Phil, William G. Contento, and Stephen T. Miller, comps. Crime, Mystery, and Gangster Fiction Magazine Index, 1915–2010. Locus, 2011. CD-ROM. <http://www.philsp.com/cfi1.html>.

An index to the contents of 870 English-language crime, mystery, and gangster fiction magazines that incorporates the following:

Contento, William G. Mystery Short Fiction: [1990– ]: An Index to Mystery Magazines, Anthologies, and Single-Author Collections. <http://www.philsp.com/homeville/msf/0start.htm>. (Also included in Contento, Mystery Short Fiction Miscellany: An Index, CD-ROM [Locus, 2010].)
Cook, Michael L., comp. Monthly Murders: A Checklist and Chronological Listing of Fiction in the Digest-Size Mystery Magazines in the United States and England. Westport: Greenwood, 1982. 1,147 pp.
Cook, Michael L., and Stephen T. Miller. Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Fiction: A Checklist of Fiction in U.S. Pulp Magazines, 1915–1974. 2 vols. New York: Garland, 1988. Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 838: Fiction in the Pulp Magazines 1.

Data are presented in seven static lists (authors listed alphabetically, authors with a chronological list of stories and articles, titles of stories and articles, tables of contents by issues, artists, series titles, and publishers) that users must navigate by hyperlinks. Because of the number of abbreviations, users will need frequent recourse to the list; because the list has to be accessed through the Table of Contents page, searchers should load the Abbreviations page in a separate browser tab. To obtain full details about a work, users must cut and paste from too many indexes; access would be measurably improved by conflating many of the separate lists, expanding abbreviations, and providing a basic search engine. Additions and corrections appear at Contento’s Mystery Short Fiction (http://www.philsp.com/homeville/msf/0start.htm). Despite its drawbacks, Crime, Mystery, and Gangster Fiction Magazine Index, 1915–2010 offers the best access to these frequently elusive publications.

L915

Hubin, Allen J. Crime Fiction, IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–2000. [Rev. ed.] Locus, 2010. CD-ROM. A new edition is in progress.

Indexes 6,285 films and 145,131 separately published English-language novels, collections of short stories or novellas, plays, and poems of mystery, detective, suspense, thriller, romantic suspense, police, and spy fiction. Access is inhibited because users must navigate a series of cross-linked indexes rather than access a search interface (a result of the failure to divorce the electronic from the five-volume print version [Shelbourne: Battered Silicon Dispatch, 2003]). Most users will begin with the books listed by author or stories listed by author index, each of which lists works by name on title page with cross-references between pseudonym and real name. In the books listed by author index, entries identify setting, series character, and film adaptation; in the stories listed by author index, short stories are linked to the collections in which they appear. Entries in the books and stories listed by author indexes are linked to an array of indexes: titles of books; titles of stories; titles of movies; authors of movies; publishers; studios; authors (with titles listed chronologically, and the only place where works are identified by genre); series characters; and settings. Additions and corrections are contained in three separate addenda; some of the other addenda published in Mystery*File are available at http://www.mysteryfile.com, which is no longer updated. A regularly updated blog has supplemented the Web page since 2006 at http://mysteryfile.com/blog/. The corrections and additions at http://www.locusmag.com/index/cf4cd.htm appear to have been incorporated into the current edition. To obtain full details about a work, users must cut and paste from too many indexes; access would be measurably improved by conflating many of the separate lists, expanding abbreviations, and providing a basic search engine. Like its predecessors—Crime Fiction, 1749–1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography (1984; 712 pp.; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 371); 1981–1985 Supplement (1988; 260 pp.; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 766); Crime Fiction, II: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–1995, rev. and updated ed., 2 vols. (1994; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 1353); and Crime Fiction, III: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–1995, rev. ed., CD-ROM (Locus, 2001)—Crime Fiction, IV is an indispensable guide to the subject but one that many users will avoid because poor design and inadequate search features make extracting information so needlessly frustrating and time-consuming.

Users will find locating stories in collections easier in William G. Contento, Index to Crime and Mystery Anthologies, 1875–2010 (with Mystery Collections: 2001–2010) (Locus, 2011, CD-ROM), which indexes more than 2,800 anthologies and single-author collections in seven static lists (books by author, books by title, stories by author, stories by title, series titles, publishers, and authors with a chronological list of titles) that users must navigate by hyperlinks (see L910a for an evaluation of the search capabilities). Additions and corrections appear at Contento’s Mystery Short Fiction (http://www.philsp.com/homeville/msf/0start.htm).

Albert J. Menendez, The Subject Is Murder: A Selective Guide to Mystery Fiction, 2 vols. (with vol. 2 subtitled A Selective Subject Guide to Mystery Fiction) (New York: Garland, 1986–90; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 627 and 1060), classifies about 5,900 works under 29 subjects (e.g., academe, literary people, bookshops and libraries, weddings and honeymoons, and gardening). Readers new to mystery fiction will find useful guidance in Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime, rev. and enl. ed. (New York: Harper, 1989; 952 pp.), whose listings of novels, short stories, plays, critical studies, true crime stories, and Sherlockiana are accompanied by succinct evaluations.

Most issues of Armchair Detective 1–30 (1967–97) include “Checklist of Mystery, Detective, and Suspense Fiction Published in the United States.”

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L920

Albert, Walter. Detective and Mystery Fiction: An International Bibliography of Secondary Sources. 3rd ed. Locus, 2003. CD-ROM.

A classified, annotated bibliography of studies (published through 2000) on crime, detective, mystery, suspense, and espionage fiction that excludes Sherlockiana. Although the subtitle denominates this an “international bibliography,” coverage of non-English-language sources is inconsistent. The 10,721 entries are arranged alphabetically by scholar in five divisions: reference works; general studies (books); general studies (articles); dime novels, juvenile series, and pulps; and authors. An additional section on magazines updates Cook, Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Magazines (L925). Annotations are frequently extensive and evaluative. The CD-ROM provides a series of static pages that can only be navigated by clicking through a series of alphabetical files. There are hyperlinks, but it is not possible to search across files. Indexed by scholars, authors, series characters, magazines, and publishers. To obtain full details about a work, users must cut and paste from too many indexes; access would be measurably improved by conflating many of the separate lists and providing a basic search engine. Although frustratingly inaccessible, Detective and Mystery Fiction is the most thorough bibliography of the subject and is superior to the following:

Breen, Jon L. What about Murder? A Guide to Books about Mystery and Detective Fiction. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1981. 157 pp. What about Murder? 1981–1991. 1993. 376 pp. Supplemented by “What about Murder,” Breen’s regular column in Armchair Detective 18–30 (1984–97). This work remains valuable for its detailed evaluations.
Johnson, Timothy W., and Julia Johnson, eds. Crime Fiction Criticism: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1981. 423 pp. Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 233.
Skene Melvin, David, and Ann Skene Melvin, comps. Crime, Detective, Espionage, Mystery, and Thriller Fiction and Film: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Critical Writing through 1979. Westport: Greenwood, 1980. 367 pp.

Periodicals

Guides to Primary Works

L925

Cook, Michael L., [ed.]. Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Magazines. Westport: Greenwood, 1983. 795 pp. Hist. Guides to the World’s Periodicals and Newspapers. PN3448.D4 C56 809.3′872.

A collection of separately authored profiles of English-language fiction and nonfiction magazines (including scholarly journals and fanzines) published in North America and England, along with selective overviews of foreign language periodicals. Excludes publications restricted to members of Sherlock Holmes organizations. Organized alphabetically by title (with cross-references for variants), the entries for the English-language periodicals include a discussion of publishing history and general content; a selected list of studies, indexing sources, and locations (with many citing only private collections); and information on title changes, volume and issue numbering and dates, publisher(s), editor(s), price, size and pagination, and current status. Two other divisions offer basic overviews and lists by country of foreign language magazines and discussions of book clubs. Seven appendixes: United States, English, and Canadian magazines, classified by country, then format for fiction and subject for nonfiction publications; major writers and the magazines that published them; chronology of English-language periodicals and book clubs; American true-detective magazines; Canadian true-detective magazines; Sherlock Holmes scion society periodicals; other periodicals of interest to the collector. Concludes with a selected bibliography. The index of titles, persons, publishers, and some subjects excludes the division listing foreign language magazines. Given the ephemeral nature and short lives of many of these publications, the lack of publishing details and few locations for many entries is not surprising. Although the essays vary substantially in quality and accuracy, Cook is the single best guide to the important English-language periodicals. Review: Fred Erisman, Resources for American Literary Study 13.1 (1983): 109–11.

The section on magazines in the 3rd ed. of Albert, Detective and Mystery Fiction (L920), updates some information in Cook.

Picaresque Fiction

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L950

Laurenti, Joseph L. Catálogo bibliográfico de la literatura picaresca siglos XVI–XX. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Kassel: Reichenberger, 2000. Teatro del Siglo de Oro: Bibliografías y catálogos 27–28. Z2694.P5 L38.

A bibliography of editions and translations of Spanish picaresque fiction first published between 1554 and 1743 and of studies through 1998 of picaresque fiction worldwide. Entries are listed chronologically in sections on bibliographies, etymology of pícaro, anthologies, general studies, literary relations (subdivided by country), and individual Spanish novels (with subdivisions for bibliographies, editions, translations [grouped by language], and studies). Two indexes: persons; subjects. Users should note that the list of abbreviations and acronyms appears at the end of the book. Although the organization impedes access to the contents, no other source collects so handily the widely dispersed scholarship on the picaresque.

Science and Fantasy Fiction

This section lists only the major general reference works on science and fantasy fiction. It excludes works devoted to film and television; illustration; chronological periods; a single national literature; and individual forms, types, or themes. For these specialized reference works, consult Tymn, Research Guide to Science Fiction Studies (L1015a); Barron, Anatomy of Wonder (L1015); and, especially, Burgess, Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (L952).

Guides to Reference Works

L952

Burgess, Michael, and Lisa R. Bartle. Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. 2nd ed. Westport: Libs. Unlimited–Greenwood, 2002. 605 pp. Reference Sources in the Humanities Ser. Z5917.S36 B87 [PN3433.5] 016.8093′876.

An evaluative guide to bibliographies, indexes, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works published through 1999 (with a few from 2000) devoted to fantastic literature. The 699 entries are organized in divisions for encyclopedias and dictionaries; atlases and gazetteers; cataloging guides; yearbooks, annuals, and almanacs; annual directories; statistical sources; awards lists; pseudonyms lists; biographical directories; readers’ and critical guides; guides to secondary sources; library catalogs and collection guides; magazine and anthology indexes; general bibliographies; national bibliographies; subject bibliographies; publisher bibliographies; author bibliographies; artist bibliographies; character dictionaries and author encyclopedias; film and television catalogs; printed guides to the Internet; calendars and chronologies; quotation dictionaries; collectors’ and price guides; fan guides; online resources; core periodicals; professional organizations; and core collections. Three indexes: authors; titles; subjects. Although some chapters would benefit from a hierarchical, rather than alphabetical, organization, the extensive annotations offer a thorough description of content and organization, comparisons with similar or related works, and a rigorous, uncompromising evaluation of strengths and weaknesses (though the entry on Summers, A Gothic Bibliography [L860a], fails to warn readers about the notorious unreliability of this work). With one of the foremost bibliographers of the field as an author, this work supersedes or is superior to the sections on reference works in Tymn, Horror Literature (L860a); Barron, Horror Literature (L1015a); Barron, Anatomy of Wonder (L1015); and Justice, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference (L1015a) and is the essential guide to reference works in a field beset by more than its share of shoddy bibliographies, dictionaries, and the like.

Histories and Surveys

For an evaluative annotated list of histories and surveys, see Gary K. Wolfe, “History and Criticism,” pp. 523–612 in Barron, Anatomy of Wonder (L1015); and Marshall B. Tymn, “Science Fiction: A Brief History and Review of Criticism,” American Studies International 23.1 (1985): 41–66.

For a chronological overview of science fiction criticism since the seventeenth century, see “A History of Science Fiction Criticism,” a special section in Science-Fiction Studies 26.2 (1999): 161–283.

L955

Aldiss, Brian W., and David Wingrove. Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction. London: Stratus, 2001. 639 pp. (A reprint of the 1986 ed. [New York: Atheneum, 1986; 511 pp.] with a new “Tailpiece” by Aldiss.) PR830.S35 A38 823′.0876′09.

A critical history from Shelley’s Frankenstein through the mid-1980s that locates the origin of science fiction in the Gothic romance and emphasizes its development as a genre (primarily in Britain and the United States). Indexed by author, title, and some subjects. Although some assertions are controversial and although the treatment of post-1970 works is not up to the standard of the earlier part, Trillion Year Spree remains the fullest history of science fiction and a worthy successor to Aldiss, Billion Year Spree: The True History of Science Fiction (Garden City: Doubleday, 1973; 339 pp.). Reviews: John Clute, TLS: Times Literary Supplement 31 Oct. 1986: 1223; Veronica Hollinger, Science-Fiction Studies 15.1 (1988): 102–05; Roz Kaveney, Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction 38 (1986–87): 69–76, with responses by Wingrove and Malcolm Edwards and a reply by Kaveney, 40 (1987): 72–81.

L960

Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. 317 pp. PN3448.S45 S897 809.3′876.

An attempt to legitimatize science fiction by establishing a poetics of the genre and tracing its early evolution. Based on Marxist ideology, the first part presents the theoretical foundation, which defines science fiction as “the literature of cognitive estrangement” and emphasizes utopian literature while largely excluding myth and fantasy. The second part traces the evolution of European and American science fiction from More through Wells, with a brief excursion into early-twentieth-century Russian works and a chapter on Karel Čapek. Concludes with a selected bibliography. Indexed by persons. Although reviewers justifiably find the discussion of poetics too restrictive, most agree that Suvin is an important, provocative contribution to the study of the genre. Reviews: Dagmar Barnouw, MLN 95.5 (1980): 1461–66; John R. Reed, Modern Philology 78.3 (1981): 338–40; George Slusser, Nineteenth-Century Fiction 35.1 (1980): 73–76.

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L965

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Ed. John Clute and David Langford. Beta vers. Gollancz and SF Gateway, 2011. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://sf-encyclopedia.com/>.

This revises and supersedes the following:

Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Grolier Electronic, 1995. CD-ROM.
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Ed. Clute and Peter Nicholls. [Updated 2nd ed.] New York: St. Martin’s–Griffin, 1995. 1,386 pp. PN3433.4.E53 809.3′8762′03.
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls: New Data, Typographical Errors, Factual Corrections, and Miscellanea. Ed. David Langford. N.p., 2002. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://sfe3.org/addenda/sfec.html>.

Prints more than 13,476 signed entries (as of October 2012) on authors, themes, films and television programs, magazines and fanzines, illustrators, editors, critics, filmmakers, publishers, pseudonyms, series, anthologies, comics, games, characters, terminology, and awards. Many entries include links to an earlier version. Users can limit a keyword search to topical entries (e.g., authors, comics, film) or browse by themes, authors, media, culture, or all entries. Prefaced by an admirably clear statement of editorial principles and coverage and replete with evaluative, well-written, information-packed entries, Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is the essential encyclopedia of the subject. Complemented by Encyclopedia of Fantasy (L967).

L967

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Ed. John Clute and John Grant. [Updated ed.] New York: St. Martin’s–Griffin, 1999. 1,079 pp. PN3435.E53 809.3′8766′03.

Encyclopedia of Fantasy Edited by John Clute and John Grant: New Data, Typographical Errors, Factual Corrections, and Miscellanea. Ed. David Langford. N.p., 2003. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://sfe3.org/addenda/fec.html>.

An encyclopedia of authors, artists, movies, motifs, themes, genres, art, characters, television series, printed works, concepts, periodicals, critics, awards, and the like associated with fantasy. Many of the more than 4,000 entries conclude with suggestions for further reading. The updated edition prints additions and corrections at the back; these, along with further updates, appear on Langford’s Web site. Like its counterpart Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (L965)—to which there are numerous cross-references—Encyclopedia of Fantasy is replete with evaluative, well-written, information-packed entries and is the essential desktop companion for fantasy literature. Review: Andy Sawyer, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction 70 (1997): 86–89.

Guides to Primary Works

For an overview of bibliographies of primary works of science fiction, see Hal W. Hall and Wendi Arant, “The Bibliographic Control of Science Fiction: A Quarter-Century of Change,” Extrapolation 40.4 (1999): 304–13.

Serial Bibliographies

L980

NESFA Index to Short Science Fiction for, [1987–89]. Cambridge: NESFA, 1989–92. Z5917.S36 I55 808.83.

NESFA Index to the Science Fiction Magazines and Original Anthologies, [1971–86]. Cambridge: NESFA, 1973–88. Annual. Title varies. Z5917.S36 I55 [PN3433] 813′.0876′016.

An author and title index to English-language “professional” science fiction magazines, anthologies, and single-author collections. The last volumes were organized in four divisions: separate lists of magazines, anthologies, and collections indexed; contents of issues or volumes indexed (listed alphabetically by periodical or collection title); author index (keyed to the contents list); title index (keyed to the author index). The space devoted to the superfluous list of magazines, anthologies, and collections indexed could be better utilized for fuller citations in the author and title indexes. Anyone consulting the title index must move to the author index and then to the list of contents to gather sufficient information to locate a story. Nonetheless, NESFA Index remains the standard index for 1971–89.

It appeared that NESFA Index would be rendered superfluous by Charles N. Brown and William G. Contento, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, [1985–90]: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland: Locus, 1986–91). Although hardly “comprehensive” and inefficiently organized, it was the work that came closest to providing a list of current science fiction publications and was a useful continuation of Contento, Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections (L985). Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror is cumulated and continued, in truncated form, in the annual Locus Index to Science Fiction, [1984– ] (http://www.locusmag.com/index/; CD-ROM [combined with Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections (L985)]), a series of hyperlinked indexes structured much like the pages of Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections: Combined Edition (L985) and suffering from the same deficiencies.

The best coverage of magazines is provided by Miller and Contento, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazine Index (L987).

Other Bibliographies

L985

Contento, William G. Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections: Combined Edition. Galactic Central. Contento, 2008. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.philsp.com/homeville/ISFAC/0start.htm>. CD-ROM (combined with Charles N. Brown and Contento, Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984–2008) [L980a]).

An expanded, corrected electronic version of Contento, Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections, 2 vols. (Boston: Hall, 1978–84; Reference Pub. in Science Fiction), which is an author and title index to the contents of English-language collections, anthologies, and novels developed out of three or more stories. Vol. 1 (covering works published through June 1977) is restricted to science fiction that deals “with social and technical extrapolation and invention,” but the second volume (primarily covering works published from July 1977 through December 1983) admits more horror, weird, and fantasy fiction. The second volume offers a significantly improved layout, but both volumes are plagued by an unduly confusing system of abbreviations.

The Combined Edition reformats the data into six static lists (titles of books, authors of books, titles of short stories, authors of short stories, chronological list of novels and short stories for each author, and series titles) that users must navigate by hyperlinks. As of the last update (26 January 2008), the site indexed 3,983 collections containing more than 38,900 stories by 3,902 authors. Although the electronic version reduces the number of abbreviations, enough remain that users will need frequent recourse to the list; because the list has to be accessed through the Table of Contents page, searchers should load the Abbreviations page in a separate browser tab. To obtain full details about a work, users must cut and paste from too many indexes; access would be measurably improved by conflating many of the separate lists, expanding abbreviations, and providing a basic search engine. Although not comprehensive and lacking full publication details for some entries, Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections: Combined Edition is the best single index to science fiction anthologies and collections published before 1984.

Continued (for collections published December 1984–90) by Brown and Contento, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (L980a).

Many (but not all the collections) in the preceding are also indexed in Mike Ashley and Contento, The Supernatural Index: A Listing of Fantasy, Supernatural, Occult, Weird, and Horror Anthologies (Westport: Greenwood, 1995, 933 pp.; Bibliogs. and Indexes in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror 5). The 2,100 volumes cited herein are needlessly relegated to separate lists of editors, anthology titles, authors, short story titles, and anthology contents. Although the author index includes information on length of a story, original publication information, and a chronological list of collections that reprint it, the separate indexes make the work awkward to consult.

L987

Miller, Stephen T., and William G. Contento. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazine Index: 1890– . Locus, 2001– . CD-ROM. Irregular.

An index to English-language science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction magazines (including some that were assembled but not published). The 2007 release covers more than 17,420 issues for 1,244 publications, with separate indexes of magazine titles, authors and artists, stories listed alphabetically by author, stories listed by title, works about authors, stories listed chronologically by author, series, cover artists, and magazines with issues listed by date. Given the extensive hyperlinking and the lack of any search capability beyond that of the user’s Web browser, several of the separate indexes could be conflated so that users don’t have to click through successive indexes in order to assemble a full citation for a story. Titles are followed by an abbreviation that identifies genre or type of work (e.g., interview, letter, cartoon); since space is not a concern on the CD-ROM, users would be better served by expanded abbreviations instead of having to consult the list of abbreviations. Concludes with a list of missing issues, a hyperlink to an online addendum (last updated in 2000), and a notes section, which includes a poorly identified and murky user’s guide; the last, along with a clear explanation of the scope and editorial procedures, should be at the very top of the opening screen. Although in need of proofreading, the conflation of some of the separate lists, and an embedded search capability, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazine Index (which is based on a perusal of tables of contents or information from collectors) offers the best access to these fugitive publications.

L990

Reginald, R. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: A Checklist, 1700–1974, with Contemporary Science Fiction Authors II. 2 vols. Detroit: Gale, 1979. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991: A Bibliography of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Fiction Books and Nonfiction Monographs. 1992. 1,512 pp. Z5917.S36 R42 [PN3448.S45] 016.823′0876.

Lists about 38,000 English-language first editions by author, with accompanying title and series indexes. There are, of course, omissions, and the introduction suggests that some information is taken from union catalogs and other secondhand sources. Review: (1975–1991) Andrew M. Butler, Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction 63 (1995): 105–07.

Although Reginald is the standard bibliography of separately published fantasy, science, and weird supernatural fiction, it does not completely supersede E. F. Bleiler, The Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction (Glen Rock: Firebell, 1978; 266 pp.). L. W. Currey, Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction and Selected Nonfiction, rev. ed., CD-ROM (RB, 2002), is the most accurate source for identifying first printings through 1977 of separately published works by 215 writers. For detailed critical synopses of several thousand works (including novels, novellas, short stories, and plays) published in English through 1936, see Everett F. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years (Kent: Kent State UP, 1990; 998 pp.) and Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years: A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 through 1936 (Kent: Kent State UP, 1998; 730 pp.). Based on firsthand acquaintance with each work, the summaries are admirably full and usually conclude with an evaluative comment. Running heads and better page design would have allowed users to locate entries more readily. Three indexes: titles; persons; motifs and themes (an especially valuable feature).

Vol. 2, a revision of Contemporary Science Fiction Authors (New York: Arno, 1975; 365 pp.), provides biographical information on 1,443 twentieth-century authors. All the volumes of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature are indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565). Since details were compiled from questionnaires and Contemporary Authors (J595), entries are uneven.

L995

Schlobin, Roger C. The Literature of Fantasy: A Comprehensive, Annotated Bibliography of Modern Fantasy Fiction. New York: Garland, 1979. 425 pp. Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 176. Z2014.F4 S33 [PR830.F3] 016.823′0876.

A selective guide to major works published between 1837 and April 1979 by English and American authors and a few foreign writers important to the Anglo-American tradition. Literature of Fantasy includes primarily adult prose fiction published in book form in English. The first part is a list of novels and collections—as well as bibliographies—accompanied by summaries, with occasional evaluative comments, for novels and lists of contents for collections. The second part lists anthologies (along with contents) alphabetically by editor. Two indexes: authors, compilers, editors, translators; titles. Although hardly the comprehensive bibliography claimed in the subtitle, Schlobin is the fullest guide to important fantasy fiction.

Although more selective, Barron, Fantasy and Horror (L1015a), is valuable for its annotations. Barron supersedes Marshall B. Tymn, Kenneth J. Zahorski, and Robert H. Boyer, Fantasy Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide (New York: Bowker, 1979; 273 pp.).

L1000

Tuck, Donald H. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy through 1968. 3 vols. Chicago: Advent, 1974–82. Z5917.S36 T83 016.80883′876.

Vols. 1 and 2 constitute an international who’s who of science, fantasy, and weird fiction. Entries include basic biographical information, but the focus of each is a bibliography of collections (including contents), novels (originally published or reprinted 1945–68), and translations. (For earlier novels see Reginald, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature [L990].) Vol. 2 prints a title index to the listings. Vol. 3 includes a title bibliography of magazines (with publication and historical information on many ephemeral periodicals); an author list of paperback editions from the 1940s through 1968; a list of paperback publishers with titles published under imprints; a pseudonym and real-name list; and a list of series, connected stories, and sequels. Tuck records a wealth of information, although parts are superseded by recent bibliographies of primary works in this section and by more current but less comprehensive biographical dictionaries.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

For an overview of bibliographies of secondary works on science fiction, see Hal W. Hall and Wendi Arant, “The Bibliographic Control of Science Fiction: A Quarter-Century of Change,” Extrapolation 40.4 (1999): 304–13; for an evaluation of Web sites, see Arant and Hall, “Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Guide to Resources on the Web,” College and Research Library News 63.9 (2002): 652–55.

Serial Bibliographies

L1013

Hall, Hal W., ed. Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database. Texas A&M University. University Libs., Texas A&M U, n.d. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://sffrd.library.tamu.edu>. Updated quarterly.

A database of 98,247 (as of 30 October 2012) books, articles, parts of books, reviews, and newspaper articles on science, fantasy, horror, supernatural, and weird fiction (with science fiction predominating). Although the index is international in scope, coverage is fullest for English-language publications (an inevitable consequence of the elusiveness or limited distribution of so much secondary literature on science fiction). Records can be searched by title, keyword, author, imprint (date, publisher, place, journal title), or subject (or any combination of the preceding); in addition, searchers can browse by title, author, periodical, or subject. Records, which are listed alphabetically by title after being flagged and cannot be sorted, can be e-mailed or downloaded to a spreadsheet. The database is still evolving and—like so many other databases—bears traces of its print ancestors, but it already is the preeminent bibliography of studies of science fiction. In its currency, accessibility, and thoroughness, it stands among the very best online nonsubscription literature databases.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database supersedes Hall, Science Fiction Index: Criticism (Bryan: Hall, 1980; microfiche); the augmented cumulation of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Index in Hall, Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Index, 1980–1984 (L1020), pp. 347–761; Hall, comp., Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Index (San Bernardino: Borgo, 1981–88); Hall, “Research Index,” in the 1988–90 volumes of Brown and Contento, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (L980a); Hall, Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index, 1878–1985: An International Author and Subject Index to History and Criticism, 2 vols. (Detroit: Gale, 1987) and its two supplements: 1985–1991 (Englewood: Libs. Unlimited, 1993; 677 pp.) and 1992–1995 (1997; 503 pp.); and the following (though some remain useful for their annotations):

“The Year’s Scholarship in Fantastic Literature and the Arts 1988.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 2.3 (1990): 63–128.
“The Year’s Scholarship in Fantastic Literature, [1972–79, 1983–87].” Extrapolation 17–22, 26–29 (1975–81, 1985–88). Title varies.
Tymn, Marshall B., ed. The Year’s Scholarship in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Literature, [1980, 1981, 1982]. Kent: Kent State UP, 1983–84.

The bibliographies for 1972–79 are cumulated and expanded as the following:

Tymn, Marshall B., and Roger C. Schlobin, eds. The Year’s Scholarship in Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1976–1979. Kent: Kent State UP, 1982. 251 pp. Serif Ser. 41.
The Year’s Scholarship in Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1972–1975. 1979. 222 pp. Serif Ser. 36.

Other Bibliographies

L1015

Barron, Neil, ed. Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. 5th ed. Westport: Libs. Unlimited, 2004. 995 pp. Z5917.S36 A52 [PN3433.8] 016.80883′876.

A selective, evaluative guide to primary works, scholarship, and reference sources. The first part consists of historical surveys of periods: the beginnings to 1914, 1915–39, 1940–63, 1964–83, 1984–2004. The second part consists of critical summaries of 1,400 novels and collections. The third part is devoted to lists of research aids, with chapters on library selection; general reference works; history and criticism; books about individual authors; film, television, and radio; illustration; teaching materials; magazines; and library collections. The full annotations are rigorously evaluative and frequently offer helpful comparisons. (In parts 2 and 3 an asterisk denotes an especially significant work.) The third edition (1987; 874 pp.) remains useful for its coverage of foreign language science fiction. Three indexes: authors and subjects; titles; themes.

Neil Barron, ed., Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide to Literature, Illustration, Film, TV, Radio, and the Internet (Lanham: Scarecrow, 1999; 816 pp.)—a revision of Barron, ed., Fantasy Literature: A Reader’s Guide (New York: Garland, 1990; 874 pp.; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 874), and Barron, ed., Horror Literature: A Reader’s Guide (New York: Garland, 1990; 596 pp.; Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 1220)—copies the format, organization, and indexing of Anatomy of Wonder 4: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction, 4th ed. (New Providence: Bowker, 1995; 912 pp); cites many of the same reference works; and offers the same rigorously evaluative, comparative annotations.

Usually judicious in selection and pointed in evaluation, Anatomy of Wonder and Fantasy and Horror are the best guides to important scholarship and reference works.

Although now dated, the following selective guides remain occasionally useful:

Clareson, Thomas. Science Fiction Criticism: An Annotated Checklist. Kent: Kent State UP, 1972. 225 pp. Serif Ser. 23. The work remains useful for its inclusion of articles, which both Barron and Tymn (see below) omit.
Tymn, Marshall B., Roger C. Schlobin, and L. W. Currey, comps. and eds. A Research Guide to Science Fiction Studies: An Annotated Checklist of Primary and Secondary Sources for Fantasy and Science Fiction. New York: Garland, 1977. 165 pp. Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 87. A selective, classified guide to about 400 important bibliographies, reference works, biographical dictionaries, indexes, surveys and histories, studies of individual authors, and periodicals published in the United States and England through 1976. The annotations are only occasionally evaluative but usually indicate when a work supersedes an earlier one. (The separate list of North American dissertations, compiled by Douglas R. Justus, is not annotated.)

Although Keith L. Justice, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference: An Annotated Bibliography of Works about Literature and Film (Jefferson: McFarland, 1989; 266 pp.), is purportedly a guide to reference materials, the majority of its 304 entries are for critical and historical books. The extensive annotations are frequently rigorous in evaluating works, but Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Reference is untrustworthy as a guide to reference materials because of its inclusion of so many superseded publications (e.g., only the first edition of Barron, Anatomy of Wonder [L1015] appears), incomplete coverage of multivolume works (e.g., only the 1923–73 volume of Science Fiction Book Review Index [L1020], the 1972–75 cumulation of “The Year’s Scholarship in Fantastic Literature” [L1013], and vol. 1 of Contento, Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections [L985] are admitted), and inexcusable omission of numerous essential guides and bibliographies (e.g., Hall, Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Index [L1013a], and Tymn, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines [L1025]).

Review Indexes

L1020

Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Index (SFFBRI). Comp. Hal W. Hall. Bryan: SFBRI, 1970–90. Annual. Former title: SFBRI: Science Fiction Book Review Index (1970–84). PN3433.S29 813.

The work is cumulated and augmented in the following:

Hall, Hal W. Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Index, 1980–1984. Detroit: Gale, 1985. 761 pp.
———. Science Fiction Book Review Index, 1974–1979. 1981. 391 pp.
———. Science Fiction Book Review Index, 1923–1973. 1975. 438 pp.

An author list, with title index, of works reviewed in science fiction, fantasy, and a few general-interest periodicals. Although entries before vol. 15 (1985) do not include full bibliographic information and many are taken from other indexes, SFFBRI was the fullest guide to reviews of science fiction works and scholarship. The cumulation of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Index, vols. 1–5 (L1013a) in the 1980–84 cumulation of SFBRI, is superseded by Hall, Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index, 1878–1985 (L1013a). Review: (1980–84) Gary K. Wolfe, Science-Fiction Studies 14.42 (1987): 252–60.

Biographical Dictionaries

For an evaluatively annotated list of biographical reference works, see Neil Barron, “General Reference Works,” pp. 502–15, and Barron, Richard L. McKinney, and Michael A. Morrison, “Author Studies,” pp. 613–77 in Barron, Anatomy of Wonder (L1015).

Periodicals

For an evaluative, but highly selective, list of reference works and periodicals, see Joe Sanders, “Science Fiction Magazines and Fandom,” pp. 775–92 in Barron, Anatomy of Wonder (L1015).

Guides to Primary Works

L1025

Tymn, Marshall B., and Mike Ashley, eds. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Westport: Greenwood, 1985. 970 pp. Hist. Guides to the World’s Periodicals and Newspapers. PN3433.T9 809.3′876.

A guide to magazines, fanzines, and scholarly journals from 1882 through 1983. The entries are organized in four divisions: 279 English-language magazines, 15 paperback English-language anthology series associated with magazines, 72 scholarly journals and major fanzines, and 184 foreign language magazines. The first three divisions are organized alphabetically by title (with cross-references for variant titles); the last by country, then title. In the first and second divisions, the separately authored profiles consist of a discussion of publishing history, editorial policies, contents, personnel, and significance; a selective list of scholarship, indexing sources, reprints, and locations; and details of title changes, volume and issue data, publisher(s), editor(s), format, and price. Entries in the other divisions offer much less detailed information on scope, contents, beginning and ending dates, and publishing information. Concludes with two appendixes (index to major cover artists; chronology of English-language magazines from 1882 through 1983) and a selective bibliography. The persons, titles, and awards index excludes foreign language magazines. Although the entries vary in amount of detail and degree of assessment, Tymn and Ashley offers the fullest guide to the important magazines. Review: Gary K. Wolfe, Science-Fiction Studies 14.42 (1987): 252–60.

Utopian Fiction

Many works in the preceding part on science and fantasy fiction are important for research in utopian literature.

Guides to Primary Works

L1055

Sargent, Lyman Tower. British and American Utopian Literature, 1516–1985: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography. New York: Garland, 1988. 559 pp. Garland Reference Lib. of the Humanities 831. Z2014.U84 S28 [PR149.U8] 016.82′08′0372.

An annotated list of fictional and nonfictional works that describe “a non-existent society . . . in considerable detail.” The utopias, dystopias, eutopias, and utopian satires are arranged chronologically by year of first publication. Entries provide basic bibliographic information, location of one or two copies of rare editions, and brief annotations on content or type of work. Two indexes: authors; titles. The annotations are too frequently telegraphic in their brevity, and the lack of a subject index hampers usability; yet Sargent remains the best guide to English-language utopian works.

Complemented by a series of specialized lists by Sargent:

“Australian Utopian Literature: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography, 1667–1999.” Utopian Studies 10.2 (1999): 138–73.
New Zealand Utopian Literature: An Annotated Bibliography. Wellington: Stout Research Centre for the Study of New Zealand History, Culture, and Society, Victoria U of Wellington, 1996. 20 pp. Occasional Paper 97/1.
“Utopian Literature in English Canada: An Annotated, Chronological Bibliography, 1852–1999.” Utopian Studies 10.2 (1999): 174–206.

The earlier edition (British and American Utopian Literature, 1516–1975: An Annotated Bibliography [Boston: Hall, 1979; 324 pp.; Reference Pub. in Science Fiction]) remains useful for its list of studies of utopian literature worldwide. Unfortunately, the list is segregated into books, articles, and dissertations and is unindexed.

Although Glenn Negley, Utopian Literature: A Bibliography, with a Supplementary Listing of Works Influential in Utopian Thought (Lawrence: Regents P of Kansas, 1977; 228 pp.), includes European fiction, it is more restrictive in defining utopian literature and marred by a number of deficiencies (see the review by R. D. M[ullen], Science-Fiction Studies 5.15 [1978]: 184–86).

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

There is no adequate guide to studies of utopian literature. Paul G. Haschak, Utopian/Dystopian Literature: A Bibliography of Literary Criticism (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1994; 370 pp.) is a mishmash of studies that, like the primary authors included, are selected according to no apparent criteria; indeed, several studies included give little attention to utopian or dystopian elements.

Novel

Histories and Surveys

L1057

The Oxford History of the Novel in English. Patrick Parrinder, gen. ed. 12 vols. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011– . PR821.O98 823.009.

Vol. 1: Prose Fiction in English from the Origins of Print to 1750. Ed. Thomas Keymer.
Vol. 2: English and British Fiction, 1750–1820. Ed. Peter Garside and Karen O’Brien.
Vol. 3: The Nineteenth-Century Novel, 1820–1880. Ed. John Kucich and Jenny Bourne Taylor. 2012. 548 pp.
Vol. 4: The Reinvention of the British and Irish Novel, 1880–1940. Ed. Parrinder and Andrzej Gąsiorek. 2011. 633 pp.
Vol. 5: The American Novel from Its Beginnings to 1870. Ed. J. Gerald Kennedy and Leland S. Person.
Vol. 6: The American Novel, 1870–1940. Ed. Priscilla Wald and Michael A. Elliott.
Vol. 7: British and Irish Fiction since 1940. Ed. Peter Boxall and Bryan Cheyette.
Vol. 8: American Fiction since 1940.
Vol. 9: World Fiction in English to 1950. Ed. Ralph Crane, Jane Stafford, and Mark Williams.
Vol. 10: The Novel in English in Asia and the Philippines since 1945.
Vol. 11: The Novel in Africa and the Atlantic World since 1950. Ed. Simon Gikandi.
Vol. 12: The Novel in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the South Pacific since 1950.

A collaborative history of the English language novel (here including the novella and short story as subgenres of the novel). Each volume will include separately authored essays on “book history and the history of criticism, . . . popular fiction and the fictional subgenres, . . . major novelists, movements, traditions and tendencies.” The volumes published thus far reflect the widening of the canon during the latter part of the twentieth century but do not extensively engage theory. Two indexes: novelists; other persons, subjects, and titles of anonymous works. Review: (vol. 4) Stephen Arata, Victorian Studies 54.4 (2012): 772–74.

Guides to Primary Works

L1060

Wright, R. Glenn, comp. Author Bibliography of English Language Fiction in the Library of Congress through 1950. 8 vols. Boston: Hall, 1973. Chronological Bibliography of English Language Fiction in the Library of Congress through 1950. 8 vols. 1974. Title Bibliography of English Language Fiction in the Library of Congress through 1950. 9 vols. 1976. Z5918.W74 016.823′008.

Reproductions of catalog cards from the Library of Congress shelf list PZ3 classification, which lists individual works of English-language prose fiction, including translations, by authors whose first work was published before 31 December 1950. The Author Bibliography arranges cards alphabetically under the author’s nationality (Australia, Canada, East and Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, and unknown). Vol. 7 includes a pseudonym index; vol. 8 is an author list of English-language translations (with a translator index).

The Chronological Bibliography is also organized by nationality of the author and then by date of edition (although many editions are actually classified by country of publication). Vol. 7 includes an index of joint authors and lists of pseudonyms, real names, and unidentified pseudonymous authors (all classified by nationality); vol. 8 prints chronological indexes to translations and translators and alphabetical indexes to joint authors of translations and joint translators. Users can construct their own chronological lists by searching the PZ3 classification through the Library of Congress online catalog (E260); searches must be limited by date ranges to avoid exceeding the 10,000 record limit.

Like the other works, the Title Bibliography is organized by nationality of the author, then alphabetically by title, with cross-references for variant titles; however, many works are actually classified by country of publication. Vol. 8 includes an index of joint authors, list of pseudonyms, list of real names, list of unidentified pseudonymous authors and their works, and index of translations; vol. 9 has an index of translators and joint translators.

Wright’s compilations are principally useful as catalogs of American editions of English-language novels (largely by Americans) but limited by their restriction to the Library of Congress holdings, which are extensive but not comprehensive. The Author and Title bibliographies are superseded by WorldCat (E225) and more specialized works such as Wright, American Fiction (Q4180). The Chronological Bibliography is a convenient preliminary source for charting trends in the publishing of fiction in the United States (particularly in the twentieth century); however, its ascriptions of nationality cannot be trusted.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

See

ABELL (G340): [English] Literature/General through the volume for 1967; Literature, General/Literary History/Fiction, and Literature, General/Literary Criticism/Fiction in the volumes for 1968–72; Literary History and Criticism/Fiction in the volume for 1973; and English Literature/General/Fiction in later volumes.

MLAIB (G335): General VII: Literature, General and Comparative in the volumes for 1953–55; General II: Literature, General and Comparative in the volume for 1956; General IV/Prose Fiction in the volumes for 1957–80; and the Genres/Fiction and Genres/Novel sections in pt. 4 of the later volumes. Researchers must also check the headings beginning “Fiction” and “Novel” in the subject index to post-1980 volumes and in the online thesaurus.

Short Fiction (Short Story, Novella)

Guides to Primary Works

L1085

Short Story Index: An Index to Stories in Collections and Periodicals (SSI). Ipswich: Wilson-EBSCO, 1953– . Annual, with quinquennial and other cumulations extending coverage to 1900. Z5917.S5 C62 016.80883′1. <http://www.epnet.com>. Updated daily. CD-ROM. Updated annually.

Short Story Index Retrospective: 1915–1983. EBSCOhost. Wilson-EBSCO, 2013. 11 Mar. 2013. <http://www.epnet.com>.

An author, title, and subject index to short stories published in anthologies and (since 1974) in periodicals covered by Readers’ Guide (G400) and Humanities Index (G385). (Those from periodicals are not indexed by subject.) The coverage emphasizes established authors. Entries are keyed to a list of anthologies at the back and in the cumulation Short Story Index: Collections Indexed, 1900–1978, ed. Juliette Yaakov (1979; 349 pp.). The electronic versions, which use the EBSCO search interface (see entry I512), can be searched together. Retrospective indexes more than 150,000 stories; Short Story Index includes the full text of more than 5,000 stories. SSI is the best source for identifying stories on a theme or subject and for locating reprints.

Less comprehensive but occasionally useful are the following:

Chicorel, Marietta, ed. Chicorel Index to Short Stories in Anthologies and Collections. 4 vols. New York: Chicorel, 1974. Chicorel Index Ser. 12. Supplement: 1975/76. 2 vols. 1977. An author and title list only.
“Cross-Referenced Index of Short Fiction Anthologies.” Studies in Short Fiction 7.1 (1970); 8.2 (1971): 351–409; updated annually in 13–31 (1976–94). Indexes fiction anthologies by author and anthology.
Messerli, Douglas, and Howard N. Fox, comps. Index to Periodical Fiction in English, 1965–1969. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1977. 746 pp. An author list of 11,077 works of short fiction in a variety of journals (popular and little magazines, university reviews, scholarly journals) published throughout the world (but emphasizing American publications). Although several periodicals are not fully searched and coverage is restricted to five years, a majority of the entries are not indexed elsewhere.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L1090

Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: Interpretations, 1900–1975, of Short Fiction since 1800. 3rd ed. Comp. Warren S. Walker. Hamden: Shoe String, 1977. 880 pp. Supplement I. 1980. 257 pp. Supplement II. 1984. 348 pp. Supplement III. 1987. 486 pp. Supplement IV. 1989. 342 pp. Supplement V. 1991. 401 pp. An Index to the Third Edition and Its Five Supplements, 1961–1991. 1992. 254 pp. Z5917.S5 W33 [PN3373] 016.8093′1.

Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication New Series, [1989–]. 1989–1990. Ed. Walker. 1993. 366 pp. 1991–1992. Ed. Wendell M. Aycock. 1995. 295 pp. 1993–1994. 1997. 347 pp. 1995–1996. 1999. 342 pp. 1997–1998. 2002. 399 pp. 1999–2000. 2004. 382 pp. (EBSCO [I512] plans to offer an electronic version.) Z5917.S5 W35 [PN3373] 016.8093′1.

A selective bibliography of articles and parts of books (primarily in English and published since 1900) on short stories printed after 1800 by some 3,838 (as of the volume for 1999–2000) authors worldwide. Since the focus is explication (“interpretation or explanation of the meaning of a story, including observations on theme, symbol, and sometimes structure”), source, biographical, and background studies are excluded. Entries are organized by writer, then by individual work, with citations to books keyed to a list at the back. For abbreviations of journal titles in the main volume, users must consult the list in the first supplement. Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication incorporates listings from “Annual Bibliography of Short Story Explication” in Studies in Short Fiction 1–31 (1963–94). The volumes offer no explanation of the criteria for selecting journals and books to search and many entries repeat the same essay under several short-story headings or refer to passing mentions (e.g., in 1991–1992 four of the five entries under Lycia Fagundes Telles refer to the same two pages). But Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication is a useful starting point for research, especially since it indexes parts of books.

Drama and Theater

Guides to Reference Works

L1115

Bailey, Claudia Jean. A Guide to Reference and Bibliography for Theatre Research. 2nd ed. Columbus: Pubs. Committee, Ohio State U Libs., 1983. 149 pp. Z5781.B15 [PN1620.A1] 016.792.

A classified, descriptively annotated guide to general and specialized reference works on drama and theater. Although the emphasis is overwhelmingly on the United States and Western Europe, and the annotations are sometimes less thorough than they could be, Bailey remains the only introduction to reference works for theater research. A replacement is badly needed. Review: Robert H. Hethmon, Theatre Research International 9.3 (1984): 260–61.

L1120

Whalon, Marion K. Performing Arts Research: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit: Gale, 1976. 280 pp. Performing Arts Information Guide Ser. 1. Z6935.W5 [PN1584] 016.7902.

A selective guide to reference works (in several languages and published through 1973) useful to research in the performance aspects of theater, dance, music, musical theater, film, and other entertainments. Entries are organized alphabetically in seven variously classified divisions for types of works: basic guides and general reference works; dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks; directories of organizations, institutions, and persons; play indexes and finding lists; sources for reviews of plays and films; bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts; sources for illustrations and audiovisual material. The numerous cross-references compensate somewhat for imprecise classification of several entries. Many of the descriptive annotations offer helpful evaluative comments. Indexed by authors, titles, and subjects. Although it lacks an adequate statement of scope and explanation of criteria governing selections, omits some important works, and is now badly dated, Performing Arts Research remains the best general guide to reference works important to research in the performing arts.

It is not superseded by Linda Keir Simons, The Performing Arts: A Guide to the Reference Literature (Englewood: Libraries Unlimited, 1994; 244 pp.; Reference Sources in the Humanities Ser.). Although some annotations offer brief evaluative comments, Simons is marred by inconsistent organization and coverage (especially of non-English-language resources), omission of several important works, and lack of rigor in assessing key tools.

Some additional resources on film, theater, popular music, and broadcast media are identified in Barbara J. Pruett, Popular Entertainment Research: How to Do It and How to Use It (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1992; 579 pp.). Unfortunately, because of numerous errors and omissions, untrustworthy evaluations, insufficient annotations, inadequate subject indexing, and poor organization, this work must be used with care.

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L1125

Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Ed. Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995. 1,233 pp. (Rev. of Cambridge Guide to World Theatre, ed. Banham, 1988; 1,104 pp.) PN2035.C27 792′.03. Available online through Credo Reference (http://www.credoreference.com).

An international dictionary of theater, classical to contemporary, that emphasizes performance, popular entertainment, and traditions outside Europe and North America. The signed entries cover traditions, theories, acting companies, playwrights, performers, designers, directors, movements, folk drama, types of performance, television and radio drama, playhouses, and the theatrical aspects of ballet and opera; those on national traditions and general topics conclude with a brief bibliography. Indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565). Although imbalance in coverage of forms and geographic areas is inevitable in a work of this scope, the Cambridge Guide is the most thorough and authoritative single-volume encyclopedia of world theater. Review: Anton Wagner, Theatre History in Canada 12.2 (1991): 213–18.

The entries in the first edition for Asia have been revised and expanded as The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre, ed. James R. Brandon (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993; 252 pp.).

L1130

Enciclopedia dello spettacolo. Ed. Silvio d’Amico and Francesco Savio. 9 vols. Roma: Maschere, 1954–62. Aggiornamento, 1955–1965. Roma: Unione, 1966. 1,292 cols. Indice-Repertorio. 1968. 1,024 pp. Cinema, teatro, balletto, tv. Roma: Garzanti, 1978. 782 pp. PN1625.E7 792.03.

An international encyclopedia of all forms of dramatic and musical theater, opera, cinema, television, and circus from classical antiquity to 1965. Concerts, sports, and civil and religious ceremonies are excluded. The more than 30,000 signed entries encompass dramatists, composers, librettists, performers, cinematographers, directors, producers, critics, various other theater personnel, terminology, genres and forms, national and ethnic literatures, places, technical matters, movements, groups, and themes. The entries, which range from a paragraph to several pages, are organized alphabetically by Italian-language term; most conclude with a brief bibliography, and many are accompanied by illustrations. Indexed by title in the index volume. Entries in Appendice di aggiornamento: Cinema (Roma: Istituto per la Collaborazione Culturale, 1963; 178 cols.) are revised in the supplement for 1955–65, but the former includes some different plates. Although now dated, the Enciclopedia and companion volumes remain the fullest international guide to all aspects of the theatrical arts.

An important complement to Enciclopedia dello spettacolo, The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, 6 vols., ed. Don Rubin (London: Routledge, 1994–2000), surveys national theatrical activity since 1945. The national surveys (ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 words) typically cover history, structure of the national theater community, major artistic trends, music theater, dance theater, young adult theater, puppet theater, design, theatrical space and architecture, training, and scholarship and criticism; each concludes with a selective bibliography (which are cumulated, updated, and expanded in vol. 6). The section on scholarship and criticism—which identifies major research centers, important collections, and periodicals—is of particular importance. Indexed in each volume—and cumulatively in vol. 6—by persons, titles, and subjects.

L1135

An International Dictionary of Theatre Language. Joel Trapido, gen. ed. Westport: Greenwood, 1985. 1,032 pp. PN2035.I5 792′.03′21.

A dictionary of some 10,000 English-language and 5,000 foreign language terms, historical and current, covering drama and theater worldwide. Definitions are very brief but do cite works in the accompanying bibliography that offer fuller definitions or discussions. “A Brief History of Theatre Glossaries and Dictionaries” (pp. xxxiii–xxxvi) surveys related works. Although not exhaustive—since only foreign language terms “used in the English-speaking world” are admitted and since some technical aspects of production are excluded (see the detailed explanation of scope in the prefatory matter)—the work is the most extensive dictionary of drama and theater terminology.

L1140

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. Ed. Dennis Kennedy. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. PN2035.O94 792.03′21. Online through Oxford Reference (I530).

Emphasizes theater and performance (broadly conceived), classical to contemporary, with more than 4,300 entries on individuals, national traditions, theoretical issues, genres and forms, movements, locales, organizations, performance venues, architecture, and media (see the thematic table of contents in the frontmatter of vol. 1). Although international in scope, the emphasis is on the anglophone world. Concludes with a timeline, a highly selective bibliography (a few of the signed entries end with suggestions for further reading), and a selective index of titles. Individuals with separate entries are indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565). The c. 300 contributors include far more distinguished scholars than is typical in such compilations as this. A concise, updated version of the Encyclopedia was published as The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, ed. Kennedy (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010; 689 pp.; online through Oxford Reference [I530]).

Among the numerous other encyclopedic works on drama and theater, the following are reasonably trustworthy:

The Encyclopedia of World Theater. Ed. Martin Esslin. New York: Scribner’s, 1977. 320 pp. A translation and revision of Karl Gröning and Werner Kliess, Friedrichs Theaterlexikon, ed. Henning Rischbieter (Hannover: Friedrich, 1969; 462 pp.), that covers theater, classical to contemporary, in brief entries on performers, theatrical personnel, forms, genres, theaters, movements, terms, groups, characters and character types, and critics. Entrants are indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565).
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama. Ed. Stanley Hochman. 2nd ed. 5 vols. New York: McGraw, 1984. Emphasizes dramatists but also includes entries on terms, anonymous plays, genres, national literatures, and movements. The lengthy entries on major dramatists include biographical information, critical commentary, synopses of selected plays, a list of plays, and selected bibliography. Entrants are indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565).

L1145

Pipers Enzyklopädie des Musiktheaters: Oper, Operette, Musical, Ballett. Ed. Carl Dahlhaus and Sieghart Döhring. 7 vols. München: Piper, 1986–97. ML102.O6 P5 782′.03′31.

An encyclopedia of musicals, melodramas, ballets, operas, and operettas in the modern repertory as well as some works of historical importance. Although the work emphasizes European theater, there is substantial coverage of the rest of the world. In vols. 1–6, signed entries on about 3,000 works are organized by author, composer, or choreographer. When possible, an entry identifies the author and source of the libretto, composer of the music, date and place of premiere and later important versions, characters, and orchestral requirements; provides a lengthy synopsis; analyzes the historical or current significance of the work; traces influences; locates the original manuscript and important copies; and cites printed versions, copyright holders, and selected scholarship. Indexed by titles in each volume; vol. 7 is a cumulative index of titles and persons. The handbook of terminology relating to all aspects of musical theater (originally planned as vols. 7–8) has been abandoned. On the conception and publication of the encyclopedia, see Döhring, “Zwischen dem Interesse an rascher Information und der Neigung zu verweilendem Lesen: Konzeption und Entstehung von Pipers Enzyklopädie des Musiktheaters,” Carl Dahlhaus und die Musikwissenschaft: Werk, Wirkung, Aktualität, ed. Hermann Danuser, Peter Gülke, and Norbert Miller (Schliengen: Argus, 2011) 79–87. Offering considerably more detail than one typically encounters in an encyclopedic work, Pipers is the fullest single guide to international musical theater.

More closely focused on musical drama, Kurt Gänzl, The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, 2nd ed., 3 vols. (New York: Schirmer-Gale, 2001), excludes opera, pantomime, music-hall and vaudeville pieces, and musicals for video and concentrates on France, Austria, Great Britain, the United States, Hungary, Australia, and Germany. The majority of the approximately 4,000 entries are devoted to shows and writers; entrants are indexed in Biography and Genealogy Master Index (J565).

Guides to Primary Works

Bibliographies and Indexes

L1150

Montgomery, Denise L. Ottemiller’s Index to Plays in Collections: An Author and Title Index to Plays Appearing in Collections Published since 1900. 8th ed., rev. and enl. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2011. 779 pp. Z5781.O8 [PN1655] 016.80882.

An author index to 10,141 titles in various languages (including translations) by more than 4,855 authors in 2,094 collections published for the most part in the United States or England between 1900 and 2000. Plays are keyed by an awkward system of symbols to the list of anthologies. Two indexes: play title; anthology title. Concludes with three appendixes: authors by country, race, and ethnic group; women writers; authors by sexual orientation. Similar indexes include the following:

Chicorel, Marietta, ed. Chicorel Theater Index to Plays in Anthologies, Periodicals, Discs, and Tapes. 2 vols. New York: Chicorel, 1970–71. Chicorel Theater Index to Plays in Anthologies and Collections, 1970–1976. 1977. 479 pp. Chicorel Index Ser. 25. An author and title list, with minimal subject indexing, of English-language plays.
Samples, Gordon. The Drama Scholars’ Index to Plays and Filmscripts: A Guide to Plays and Filmscripts in Selected Anthologies, Series, and Periodicals. 3 vols. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1974–86. A selective author and title index to plays and scripts of radio, television, and film productions in a variety of languages. Entries are keyed to lists of periodicals and collections. A useful complement to the other indexes listed in this entry, since coverage extends from eighteenth-century collections through the early 1980s and includes periodicals; however, the number of entries is needlessly swollen by the indexing of many standard collected editions of individual authors. Poor typography and layout make this a frustrating work to use.

There is considerable overlapping among these indexes, which are principally useful for locating anthologized reprints of plays.

Dean H. Keller, Index to Plays in Periodicals, rev. ed. (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1979; 824 pp.), and 1977–1987 (1990; 391 pp.), each an author list with title index, supplement periodical coverage of the preceding works and locate many plays not separately published or anthologized. Users should note that a majority of the entries in the 1977–1987 volume comes from pre-1977 issues of periodicals.

All of the preceding are supplemented by Inter-Play (L1155a).

L1155

Play Index. New York: Wilson, 1953– . Irregular. Z5781.P53 016.80882. <http://www.epnet.com>.

A selective author, title, and subject index to English-language plays and translations—classical through contemporary—published separately or in collections since 1949. Entries, which include a brief plot summary and production specifications, are keyed to a list of collections at the back.

The Web version uses a modified version of the standard EBSCO search interface (see I512). Basic Search allows keyword searches of fields to be limited by grade interest level; Advanced Search allows users to search record fields as well as play title, book title, play author, book author, document type, subject, genre, number in cast, and audience level; Browse allows users to browse record fields (author, document type, ISBN, LC control number, language, physical description, subject, publication date, series, or update code).

Although Play Index overlaps with the sources listed in entry L1150, this is the only work of its kind that indexes plays by subject (although some subject headings are too broad to be useful). Ina Ten Eyck Firkins, comp., Index to Plays, 1800–1926 (New York: Wilson, 1927; 307 pp.) and Supplement (1935; 140 pp.), selectively cover plays first published between 1800 and 1934.

Inter-Play (http://www.lib.pdx.edu/systems/interplay) is an important supplement to the preceding and the works listed in entry L1150 because it indexes plays in collections, anthologies, and periodicals not covered by Play Index, Ottemiller’s Index to Plays in Collections (L1150), and other standard indexes. It can be searched by author, play title, and source title; results can be sorted by author, play title, or source. For a description of the resource (which offers no explanation of the content, scope, or frequency of updating), see Janet K. Wright and Robert C. Westover, “Inter-Play: The Creation of an Internet Play Index,” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 3.3 (1998): 83–89.

Text Archives

L1158

Twentieth-Century Drama. Chadwyck-Healey Literature Collections. ProQuest, 1996–2013. 2 Jan. 2013. <http://collections.chadwyck.com/marketing/index.jsp>.

An archive of rekeyed texts of about 2,500 English-language dramatic works (published in book form since 1890) from throughout the world. Editions were selected according to the following criteria: a collected edition; if no collected edition exists, “either the first reliable edition of each play, or . . . a later edition incorporating revisions by the author.”

Standard Search allows simple keyword, first line or title, and author searches to be limited by date of first performance, publication date, genre, gender, and nationality. Advanced Search offers additional ways of limiting a search: speaker, number and gender of speakers, place of first performance, director, theatrical company, designer, number of acts, ethnicity of playwright, and subject. Find Monologues allows users to search by gender of speaker, name of speaker, title, date of first performance, genre, subject, playwright, gender of playwright, nationality, ethnicity, and verse or prose drama. Searchers can also browse an author list of the contents of the database. Results appear in ascending alphabetical order by playwright and cannot be re-sorted. Citations (but not the full text) can be marked for e-mailing, downloading, or printing; each citation includes a durable URL to the full text.

Some works are rekeyed from textually unsound editions; however, the bibliographic record for each work identifies the source of the text and any omissions (e.g., preliminary matter). Besides being a useful source for identifying an elusive quotation or half-remembered line, the scope of Twentieth-Century Drama’s text archive makes feasible a variety of kinds of studies (stylistic, thematic, imagistic, generic, and topical).

The contents of Twentieth-Century Drama can also be searched through LiOn (I527).

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

Serial Bibliographies

L1160

International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Text. EBSCOhost. EBSCO, 2013. 3 Jan. 2013. <http://www.epnet.com>. Updated regularly.

A bibliographic database of books, articles, dissertations, and other documents on all aspects of theatrical performance worldwide, with full text available for some 170 journals. The database cumulates and continues International Bibliography of Theatre, [1982–99] (IBT) (New York: Theatre Research Data Center, Brooklyn Coll., City U of New York, 1985–2002). While the move to electronic-only publication has resulted in a much-improved currency in coverage and accessibility as well as the inclusion of reviews of individual books and performances, it has also led to the uncritical admission of much that is inconsequential (e.g., lists of books received or contributors) or has no discussion of performance, as well as a precipitous decline in documents in languages other than English (a problem that the Theatre Research Data Center is working to remedy). The standard EBSCO search interface (see entry I512) does not take full advantage of IBT’s elaborate classification system (outlined in the prefatory matter to each volume). Users must consult the database-specific Help file to identify the codes for searchable fields; however, the explanation for some fields is too imprecise to allow identification of parts of an IBT record. If International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance is to regain its place as an essential resource for the study of performance arts, it will need a substantial refinement of its search interface, more attention to non-English-language publications, a firmer editorial hand, and a return to a clear focus on performance (an area not effectively covered by the serial bibliographies and indexes in section G of this Guide).

Some additional coverage is offered by IIPA: International Index to Performing Arts Full Text (IIPA; http://iipaft.chadwyck.com; updated monthly), a database of journal articles covering dance, film, drama, television, the performing arts industry, stagecraft, musical theater, and performance art. Although coverage ranges from 1864 to the present, indexing of a substantial number of the c. 285 journals commenced with volumes published in the late 1990s, and there are unexplained gaps in the coverage of some journals. Users should click on View Title List on the Basic Search screen to locate details of coverage for each title. IIPA uses the standard ProQuest search interface (I519). Records (which can be filtered in a variety of ways) provide basic bibliographical information; most since 1998 include a brief abstract, and full-text coverage extends to about 117 journals. Researchers must use this resource with due regard for the gaps in coverage.

Other Bibliographies

L1165

Cumulated Dramatic Index, 1909–1949: A Cumulation of the F. W. Faxon Company’s Dramatic Index . 2 vols. Boston: Hall, 1965. Z5781.C8 016.8082.

Reprints, in a single alphabetical sequence, the annual Dramatic Index subject indexes to English-language books and articles, illustrations, and plays published in about 150 British and American periodicals between 1909 and 1949. Opera, dance, and ballet as well as plays are covered. Except for play titles and dramatists, the subject headings are quite general. Three appendixes: author list of books; title list of plays; author list of plays. Although there are numerous errors, the work is useful for locating reviews and articles in periodicals not indexed in standard bibliographies and indexes in section G. Coverage continues as “Dramatic Index,” Bulletin of Bibliography 20.1–21.1 (1950–53).

L1170

Palmer, Helen H., comp. European Drama Criticism, 1900–1975. 2nd ed. Hamden: Shoe String; Folkestone: Dawson, 1977. 653 pp. Z5781.P2 [PN1721] 016.809′2.

A selective bibliography of articles, parts of books, and abstracts from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (H465) in a variety of languages on plays, classical through modern, by “outstanding” playwrights (except Shakespeare). Except for the limitation to studies, regardless of merit, devoted to a play as a whole, the entries seem to represent what the compiler could locate. Studies are listed under individual plays arranged alphabetically by dramatist; citations to parts of books are keyed to a list at the back. A separate list of journals does not identify volumes actually searched. Indexed by playwrights and plays. Although selection criteria are vague, the bibliography is useful for its indexing of parts of books.

Less comprehensive and current but occasionally supplementing Palmer are the following:

Adelman and Dworkin, Modern Drama: A Checklist of Critical Literature on 20th Century Plays (M2875a).
Breed and Sniderman, Dramatic Criticism Index: A Bibliography of Commentaries on Playwrights from Ibsen to the Avant-Garde (M2875a).
Coleman and Tyler, Drama Criticism. Vol. 1: A Checklist of Interpretation since 1940 of English and American Plays. Vol. 2: A Checklist of Interpretation since 1940 of Classical and Continental Plays (M2875a).

For scholarship between 1966 and 1990 on twentieth-century drama, researchers should begin with Carpenter, Modern Drama Scholarship and Criticism (M2875).

Review Indexes

See

Salem, Guide to Critical Reviews (Q4300).

Biographical Dictionaries

Indexes

L1175

Wearing, J. P. American and British Theatrical Biographies: An Index. 2 vols. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2012. PN2285.W42 792.092. (A revision of American and British Theatrical Biography: A Directory [Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1979, 1,007 pp.].)

A finding list of entries on dramatists and theatrical personnel in 130 popular and scholarly biographical dictionaries and reference works from the mid-eighteenth century to 2009. Each entry includes name, cross-references to married or stage name or pseudonym, dates of birth and death, nationality, theatrical occupation, and coded references to the dictionaries and reference works. Because of the works indexed, coverage is fuller for those who lived after c. 1800. A time-saving source for determining which of the numerous standard biographical sources include an individual.

Dictionaries

See

Sec. L: Genres/Drama and Theater/Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias.

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television (Q4305).

Poetry

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L1230

Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Roland Greene. 4th ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2012. 1,639 pp. PN1021.N39 808.1′03.

A guide to the history, theory, technique, and criticism of poetry, ancient to modern, Eastern and Western. The approximately 1,150 signed entries, written by an impressive array of scholars, cover the history of poetry (by language, school, movement, and country), technique, genres, forms, prosody, poetic theory and criticism (including critical terminology), related forms, and the relationship of poetry to other fields (e.g., music, religion, philosophy). There are no entries on individual poets or works. A typical entry includes a definition, discussion of historical development, examples, and a brief bibliography. Three indexes: persons; subjects; titles. Almost completely rewritten and substantially enlarged, Princeton Encyclopedia supersedes its predecessors (Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, enl. ed., ed. Alex Preminger [1974; 992 pp.] and New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, ed. Preminger and T. V. F. Brogan [1993; 1,383 pp.], which is online through LiOn [I527] and Credo Reference [1]). The most thorough, erudite, and authoritative of the numerous poetry encyclopedias, New Princeton Encyclopedia is an essential companion for serious readers and scholars and—as one of the very finest examples of its kind—a model for similar, much needed encyclopedias of drama and fiction.

Although neither as comprehensive nor as thorough as the Princeton Encyclopedia, the following are also useful:

Deutsch, Babette. Poetry Handbook: A Dictionary of Terms. 4th ed. New York: Funk, 1974. 203 pp.
Myers, Jack, and Michael Simms. Longman Dictionary and Handbook of Poetry. New York: Longman, 1985. 366 pp. Longman English and Humanities Ser. Reprinted as The Longman Dictionary of Poetic Terms (1989), with no acknowledgment of its ancestry or correction of the numerous factual and typographical errors (see the review by Basil Cottle, Review of English Studies ns 40.159 [1989]: 398–99). Even its third incarnation—Myers and Don C. Wukasch, Dictionary of Poetic Terms (Denton: U of North Texas P, 2003, 434 pp.)—does not correct many of the errors Cottle identified, fails to provide an adequately updated bibliography, and (even with a host of entries for what can hardly be called poetic terms [e.g., colophon, id, verso]) is hardly “the most comprehensive list of poetic terms that has yet been compiled.”
Turco, Lewis. The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics Including Odd and Invented Forms. Rev. and expanded ed. Hanover: UP of New England, 2012. 440 pp.
Williams, Miller. Patterns of Poetry: An Encyclopedia of Forms. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1986. 203 pp. Stanza patterns and poetic forms—including a few not in Princeton Encyclopedia—are more fully illustrated in this and the preceding work.

Guides to Primary Works

L1235

Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Anthologies (Granger’s Index). Ed. Tessa Kale. 13th ed. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 2,376 pp. Former titles: Granger’s Index to Poetry (1904–86); Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry (1990–94). PN1022.H39 016.80881.

Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry. (Also called Columbia Granger’s Poetry Database.) Columbia University Press. Columbia UP, n.d. 8 May 2013. <http://www.columbiagrangers.org>. Also available online through EBSCO (I512).

Title/first-line/last-line, author, and subject indexes to some 70,000 poems (including translations) in the most accessible anthologies published through 2006. Beginning with the 13th ed., poems in Spanish, Vietnamese, and French are included; earlier editions are limited to English-language works. Subject indexing, although expanded in recent editions, relies heavily on title keywords, and thus form and genre headers are virtually useless (e.g., under “sonnets” Shakespeare does not appear). The indexes are cumbersome to use because the author and subject listings are keyed to the title/first-line/last-line entries, which are in turn keyed to the list of anthologies. Users must remember to check for variant titles and first lines. Since the current edition is not cumulative and includes few pre-1990 publications, earlier editions remain essential sources. A Compilation of Works Listed in Granger’s Index to Poetry, 1904–1978 (Great Neck: Granger, 1980; 217 pp.) indexes anthologies by Granger symbol, title, and editor or compiler. Although highly selective and emphasizing established writers, Granger’s Index is valuable for identifying poems on a topic or anthologized reprints. A companion volume—The Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Collected and Selected Works, 2nd ed., ed. Keith Newton (2004; 1,847 pp.)—indexes more than 65,000 poems in collections by 266 authors. While the likelihood that a volume will be found on library shelves is Newton’s primary selection criterion, the editorial board also considered a poet’s reputation and a collection’s editorial standards.

Granger’s can be searched most efficiently through Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry database, which incorporates the 8th through the 13th editions of Granger’s Index, the first two editions of Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in Collected and Selected Works, and The Columbia Granger’s Index to African-American Poetry (Q3840), in addition to the full texts of nearly 250,000 poems, potted explications accompanied by a selective bibliography, and brief biographies. Columbia Granger’s search interface allows for a Quick Search (by author or title) or an Advanced Search (combinations of title, first line, last line, full text, author, gender, source title, and subject can be limited to full text, schools and movements, language, form [e.g., ballad, epigram], historical period, and cultural identity). Keyword searches of texts of poems frequently return several false hits since the interface does not allow exact matching. Results appear in no apparent order and cannot be re-sorted. Although in need of a more flexible search interface, Columbia Granger’s World of Poetry allows users to locate quickly poems about a particular subject or to identify half-remembered lines from a poem. Unfortunately, the online version offered by EBSCO offers no explanation of its relation to the printed editions; see entry I512 for a discussion of the search interface.

Fuller coverage of recent anthologies was offered for a time by Poetry Index Annual: A Title, Author, First Line, Keyword, and Subject Index to Poetry in Anthologies (Great Neck: Poetry Index, 1982–94). Although more thorough than Granger’s Index in covering small-press publications, it hardly achieved the exhaustiveness it sometimes claimed (“all poetry anthologies as they are published”).

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L1245

Coleman, Arthur. Epic and Romance Criticism. 2 vols. Searingtown: Watermill, 1973–74. Z7156.E6 C64 016.8091.

Vol. 1: A Checklist of Interpretations, 1940–1972, of English and American Epics and Metrical Romances. 1973. 387 pp.
Vol. 2: A Checklist of Interpretations, 1940–1973, of Classical and Continental Epics and Metrical Romances. 1974. 368 pp.

A selective bibliography of English-language articles and parts of books organized by title of poem. Inconsistencies abound in the inclusion of several works that can hardly be classified as epic or romance, in the alphabetization of titles, and in the transcription of bibliographical information. Despite the inconsistencies, errors, and omissions, the focus on long poems makes Coleman—if used with considerable caution—a useful complement to Kuntz and Martinez, Poetry Explication (L1255); Cline and Baker, Index to Criticisms of British and American Poetry (L1255a); and Alexander, American and British Poetry (L1255a). Review: John Keith Wikeley, Literary Research Newsletter 1.3 (1976): 117–21.

L1250

Donow, Herbert S., comp. The Sonnet in England and America: A Bibliography of Criticism. Westport: Greenwood, 1982. 477 pp. Z2014.S6 D66 [PR509.S7] 821′.042′09.

A bibliography of studies, anthologies, and editions of British and American sonneteers from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century. Coverage of English, French, and German scholarship is reasonably thorough; that of other languages is admittedly less so. Entries are listed alphabetically in four classified sections: general studies and anthologies, Renaissance, Shakespeare, and eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the period sections have subdivisions for general studies, anthologies, and poets. Approximately half of the 4,191 entries are annotated, but usually with a brief sentence that rarely offers an adequate indication of content. Of the three indexes (scholars; poets; subjects) only the first is adequate: neither the poet index—essential to discovering studies that discuss more than one writer—nor the subject index, which utilizes unconventional headings, is thorough. Despite its shortcomings, Donow is a valuable compilation of the widely scattered scholarship on the sonnet.

L1255

Kuntz, Joseph M., and Nancy C. Martinez. Poetry Explication: A Checklist of Interpretation since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present. [3rd ed.] Boston: Hall, 1980. 570 pp. Z2014.P7 K8 [PR502] 016.821′009.

A selective list of English-language articles and parts of books (published between 1925 and 1977) that explicate poems of generally less than 500 lines. Contemporary authors who are not widely recognized are not included. Entries are classified by poet, then by title, with parts of books keyed to a list at the back (which also identifies volumes of journals searched). The focus is explication; therefore, source, analogue, and most metrical studies are excluded, as are studies devoted to only part of a poem or books limited to one author. Long a standard source, particularly because of its indexing of parts of books, Poetry Explication is now largely superseded by a series of volumes published by Hall (New York), in the series Reference Publication in Literature:

Ruppert, James. Guide to American Poetry Explication, vol. 1: Colonial and Nineteenth-Century. 1989. 252 pp.
Leo, John R. Guide to American Poetry Explication, vol. 2: Modern and Contemporary. 1989. 546 pp.
Martinez, Nancy C., and Joseph G. R. Martinez. Guide to British Poetry Explication, vol. 1: Old English–Medieval. 1991. 310 pp.
———. Guide to British Poetry Explication, vol. 2: Renaissance. 1992. 540 pp.
Martinez, Nancy C., Joseph G. R. Martinez, and Erland Anderson. Guide to British Poetry Explication, vol. 3: Restoration–Romantic. 1993. 576 pp.
———. Guide to British Poetry Explication, vol. 4: Victorian–Contemporary. 1995. 720 pp.

These volumes incorporate entries from the three editions of Poetry Explication and follow its structure but extend coverage (through 1987–92, depending on the publication date of a volume) and expand the scope of the earlier work by admitting interviews and books devoted to a single poet and including poems of more than 500 lines and (in the second American volume) writers from throughout North America. Reviews: (Renaissance) William C. Johnson, Analytical and Enumerative Bibliography ns 6.1 (1992): 45–49; (Restoration–Romantic) Madeline A. Copp, Analytical and Enumerative Bibliography ns 8.1 (1994): 78–80.

Similar indexes that supplement the preceding checklists include Gloria Stark Cline and Jeffrey A. Baker, An Index to Criticisms of British and American Poetry (Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1973; 307 pp.), covering studies published between 1960 and 1970 in 30 journals and a few books; and Harriet Semmes Alexander, comp., American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism, 1925–1978 (Athens: Swallow, 1984; 486 pp.) and 1979–1990 (Athens: Swallow–Ohio UP, 1996; 465 pp.), which include articles and parts of books that range beyond explication but are based on an unstated selection policy. In addition, an annual “Check List of Explication” appears in Explicator 3–41 (1944–45 through 1990–91). For studies of long poems, see Coleman, Epic and Romance Criticism (L1245).

Prose

General

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

See

ABELL (G340): [English] Literature/General through the volume for 1967; Literature, General/Literary History/Prose, and Literature, General/Literary Criticism/Prose in the volumes for 1968–72; Literary History and Criticism/Prose in the volume for 1973; and English Literature/General/Prose in later volumes.

MLAIB (G335): General VII: Literature, General and Comparative in the volumes for 1953–55; General II: Literature, General and Comparative in the volume for 1956; General IV/Prose in the volumes for 1957–80; and the Literary Forms division and Genres/Prose section in pt. 4 of the later volumes. Researchers must also check the headings beginning “Prose” in the subject index to post-1980 volumes and in the online thesaurus.

Biography and Autobiography

Research Methods

L1275

Edel, Leon. Writing Lives: Principia Biographica. New York: Norton, 1984. 270 pp. CT21.E33 808′.06692.

An exploration of the theory and problems of writing a biography of a literary author. Successive chapters examine the basic principles of biography since c. 1920, the relationship between biographer and subject, the search for materials, the role of criticism in biography, the application of psychoanalytic concepts to biography, and types of biographies. An appendix reprints some papers on Edel’s research for his biography of James. Indexed by persons, titles, and subjects. An expansion of Literary Biography, rpt. of rev. ed., with new foreword (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1973; 170 pp.), Writing Lives is one of the best introductions to the art of literary biography by one of its masters.

An important complement is Paula R. Backscheider, Reflections on Biography (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1999; 289 pp.), which examines some of the decisions that biographers must make (including choosing a subject, establishing a voice, using evidence, and employing a theory of personality).

L1280

Runyan, William McKinley. Life Histories and Psychobiography: Explorations in Theory and Method. New York: Oxford UP, 1982. 288 pp. BF38.5.R86 155.

An examination of the methodological and conceptual problems of psychobiography, with particular attention to descriptive, conceptual, and interpretive issues. The chapters are organized in three parts: problems of description and explanation (with discussions of alternative explanations in biographies, social influences, and the structure of biographical narrative), models for conceptualization of the life course, and theory and method in the study of individual lives (with examinations of the case-study, idiographic, and psychobiographic methods). Indexed by persons and subjects. Although addressed to psychologists and social scientists, Runyan is important preliminary reading for the literary biographer who would employ psychobiography or the reader evaluating a product of the approach.

Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L1283

Encyclopedia of Life Writing: Autobiographical and Biographical Forms. Ed. Margaretta Jolly. 2 vols. London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2001. CT21.E53 920′.003. Online through Credo Reference (http://www.credoreference.com).

An encyclopedia of life writing, including its genres, forms, themes, significant practitioners, important exemplars (such as major national biographies), history, geographic practice, and major “social, political, religious, and academic contexts” from the classical era to the present. The signed entries—a refreshing number of which are by authors who have published on their topics—employ a variety of disciplinary approaches in combining description and criticism; each entry concludes with a decent-size bibliography and a biography (in entries on individuals). Indexed by authors, titles, and subjects of life writings, along with key concepts. The quality of the entries and the breadth of coverage—geographic, chronological, and topical—make Encyclopedia of Life Writing an essential guide to the field.

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

There is no adequate bibliography of scholarship on the theory and practice of biography and autobiography. Given the interest in life writing, such a bibliography is a major desideratum.

L1285

“Annual Bibliography of Works about Life Writing, [1977– ].” Biography 1 (1978)– . Title varies. CT100.B54 920′.005.

A selective list of studies, mostly in English, about biography, autobiography, and related topics. Works are currently organized in four author lists: books; collections of essays and issues of journals devoted to biography (with contents listed under both); articles; dissertations. In most installments, entries are accompanied by brief descriptive annotations. The lack of a subject index means that users must scan every entry; however, researchers with access to the electronic version of the journal can use their Web browser to search each annual compilation. Although far from comprehensive—with several entries based on advertisements or sources other than the works themselves—and hardly accessible, this bibliography does isolate studies that are sometimes difficult to identify in the standard serial bibliographies and indexes in section G.

Travel Writing

Guides to Primary Works

L1295

Cox, Edward Godfrey. A Reference Guide to the Literature of Travel: Including Voyages, Geographical Descriptions, Adventures, Shipwrecks, and Expeditions. 3 vols. Seattle: U of Washington P, 1935–49. U of Washington Pubs. in Lang. and Lit. 9–10, 12. Z6011.C87 016.91.

Vol. 1: The Old World. 1935. 404 pp.
Vol. 2: The New World. 1938. 591 pp.
Vol. 3: Great Britain. 1949. 732 pp.

A bibliography of travel literature printed before 1800 in Great Britain. Cox includes English-language translations, some European-language versions of English works, and accounts written before 1800 but first published later. Vol. 3 goes beyond separately published works to cite a host of letters, diaries, and miscellaneous documents printed in larger works or collections. Each volume is organized by topical or geographic divisions; within each division, works are listed chronologically by publication date. Many entries are accompanied by a note that variously refers to translations or other editions, offers biographical information, or comments on contents. Many notes quote from other sources, some of them of dubious authority. Indexed by persons (vols. 1–2 in vol. 2, vol. 3 in vol. 3). The projected volume on Ireland was never published. Organization by date of publication combined with a lack of subject indexing makes the work less accessible than it should be. Despite the numerous errors and heavy reliance on other sources, Cox remains the best guide to travel literature in English before 1800.

Literary Research Guide/L

General

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L820

See also

Fiction

General

Bibliographies of Bibliographies

L833

Guides to Primary Works

L835

See also

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

See

Gothic and Horror Fiction

Guides to Reference Works

See

Guides to Primary Works

L860

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

Serial Bibliographies

See

Other Bibliographies

L875

See also

Historical Fiction

Guides to Primary Works

L885

L890

L895

L900

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

See

Mystery Fiction

Guides to Reference Works

L903

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L905

Guides to Primary Works

L910

L915

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L920

See also

Periodicals

Guides to Primary Works

L925

Picaresque Fiction

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

L950

See also

Science and Fantasy Fiction

Guides to Reference Works

L952

Histories and Surveys

L955

L960

Literary Handbooks, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias

L965

L967

Guides to Primary Works

Serial Bibliographies

L980

Other Bibliographies

L985

L987

L990

L995

L1000

See also

Guides to Scholarship and Criticism

Serial Bibliographies

L1013

See also

Other Bibliographies

L1015

See also

Review Indexes

L1020

See also