Chambers Dictionary of Literary Characters
Editor/Author:Publication Year: 2004
Publisher: Chambers Harrap
ISBN: 978-0-550-10127-3
Category: literature
Image Count: 1
Book Status: Available
Provides an invaluable guide to the wealth of characters created by writers in English.
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This revised dictionary contains 6,500 characters from literature in English, from "A" (Albee's Three Tall Women) to "Zweck, Norman" (Rubens's The Elected Member). The entries go beyond mere identification of author and title. Each entry has a paragraph describing the character and his or her role in the novel, short story, play, poem, or children's book for which the character was created. Entries are cross-referenced to other characters in the same work. In addition there is a title index that contains concise author biographies, lists of Nobel Prize winners in literature, Booker Prize winners in fiction, Pulitzer Prize winners in fiction, and eight signed essays on topics such as "Literary Sidekicks" and "The Detective in Fiction."The very brief introduction gives no indication of the criteria used in preparing this work, nor are the contributors described beyond their names. The copy in hand was published by Chambers and there are a fair number of characters from Australian and New Zealander works that might not be familiar to an American audience. The entries are accurate and quite helpful in placing the character in context. Similar books available include the Dictionary of Fictional Characters (The Writer, 1994), which has more entries but does not go beyond identifying author and title, and Magill's Cyclopedia of Literary Characters (see ARBA 99, entry 959), which has been expanded to five volumes and is beyond many small library budgets. Considering the modest price, this would be a good choice for public library reference sections.
Chambers Dictionary of Literary Characters
