Reference Materials for English

This title is part of the Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online e-book collection available through the Wiley Online Library.
Permitted Use | Purchased multi-user unlimited access

This title is part of the Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online e-book collection available through the Wiley Online Library.
Permitted Use | Purchased multi-user unlimited access

Contains chapters which describe and define the key elements that comprise children's literature such as plot, theme, and character.

This concise, illustrated dictionary of Shakespeariana, compiled by one of the best-known authorities on his works, contains alphabetically arranged entries guiding the reader to a wealth of information on all aspects of Shakespeare in his own time and on his impact and influence on later ages. Stanley Wells provides clear entries on: Shakespeare's life and times, the sources and early publication of his works, their performance history on stage and screen, actors such as Edmund Kean and Kenneth Branagh, and writers especially associated with them, operas and other musical works deriving from them, theaters, editions, international Shakespeare organizations--in short, on all aspects of Shakespearean interest. The volume is complemented by a series of striking pronouncements about Shakespeare over the ages from Jane Austen to Bernard Levin, tables providing interesting facts about the plays, famous documents bearing Shakespeare's signature, and a useful guide to further reading. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This text is essential for all serious students of literature. Fully updated, the eleventh edition contains a complete glossary of essential literary terms that explore the terms, place them in context, and suggest related entries and additional reading.

A survey of an important sector of American letters, African American Writers examines a multitude of black cultural leaders from the 18th to the 20th century. Brief biographies of African American authors describe their background, inspiration, literary works, and connections with other African American writers.

Inspired by the dream of the late African American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois and assisted by an eminent advisory board, Harvard scholars Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Kwame Anthony Appiah have created the first scholarly encyclopedia to take as its scope the entire history of Africa and the African Diaspora.

The Black Drama database contains the full-text of more than 1200 plays by over 200 playwrights. The plays, which were written from the mid-1800's to the present in the United States, Caribbean, and several African nations, explore many different topics including civil rights activism, interracial unity, desegregation, and apartheid. Also included are significant plays of the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts movement of the sixties and seventies.

When complete, Black Thought and Culture will provide approximately 100,000 pages of non-fiction writings by leaders within the black community from the earliest times to 1975. The collection is intended for research in black studies, political science, American history, music, literature, art, and includes monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews.

Cambridge Core provides full text for eJournals in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as access to selected eBooks purchased by UNB Libraries.
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This resource, part of Cambridge Core, contains the online versions of over 270 Cambridge Histories publications in the following 15 areas: American History, British History, Economic History, General History, History of Science, History of the Book, Language and Linguistics, Literary Studies, Music, Philosophy, Political and Social Theory, Regional History, Religious Studies, Theatre Studies and Performing Arts, and Warfare. For a complete listing of titles in each area, please refer to the publisher's site, at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/what-we-publish/collections/cambridge-histories

This book provides teachers, librarians, and other educators, parents and relatives, and students with a comprehensive and detailed examination of Canadian children's books. Each of the 133 entries on authors and illustrators presents factual and critical information along multiple dimensions. In addition to authors and illustrators of historical and contemporary importance in the English mainstream, creators of ethnic, Aboriginal, and French-Canadian origin also are included. There are representatives of regions--the North, the East, the West, and the rest between--and of all genres: retold folktales and myths, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, sports, wilderness adventure, animal epic, chapter books, picture books, poetry, stories for reluctant readers. Appendices list the winners of the major English-Canadian children's book awards and sources for further reading. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary combines coverage of international English with information on English as it is particularly used in Canada. Definitions are presented so that the meaning most familiar to Canadians appears first and foremost. It features 2,200 uniquely Canadian words and senses, 350 usage notes, 7,000 idiomatic expressions, 5,500 biographical entries, and over 5,600 place names.

Covers 213 awards and prizes in four sections: United States awards selected by adults; United States awards selected by young readers; Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, and United Kingdom awards; and selected international and multinational awards. Entries contain the author, illustrator, title, and publisher of recipients from the time the award or prize was initiated through 1996. Classified lists of the awards appear at the front of the book and are followed with lists by award type. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

An historical examination of the last two centuries of children's literature in English is followed by sections on 38 writers (from Louisa May Alcott and Lewis Carroll to J.K. Rowling); 32 major works or series; and 13 topics (including fantasy, colonialism, and literacy). The historical section is historicist--Hunt (English, Cardiff U.) is concerned with children's literature against the backdrop of its own time, as well as the times of subsequent audiences. Yet, Hunt remarks, children's literature often has a long shelf life which "can be seen as the result of deliberate acts of commercial conservatism." Entries on writers are critico- literary, not biographical; and entries on works are short, addressing some combination of critical history, literary history, and Hunt's own commentary. The many and short treatments make this a reference to consult on the way to more in-depth study. A many-faceted chronology is a valuable feature. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Covering works as diverse as a historical survey of the alphabet book and an analysis of the young adult novels of Judy Blume, this annotated bibliography draws together significant articles, books, and disseratations of children's literature criticism. Compiled from a wide variety of popular and scholarly sources, Children's Literature provides a thorough and easy-to-use resource to this burgeoning field of study. Children's Literature categorizes and assesses the critical response to fiction, drama, poetry, and some nonfiction written for children between the ages of one and sixteen.

Edited by Peter Hunt. A compedium of theoretical articles on key issues in children's literature.

Textual holdings: 1992/93 -

Supplemental textual holdings: 1996/97, 2002/03 -

" It contains entries on major works (including synopses of novels) and also incorporates information on literary characters, as well as on character types such as Aunt Jemima and Brer Rabbit. Icons of black culture are addressed, including Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane, Marcus Garvey, Jackie Robinson, John Brown, and Harriet Tubman. There are general articles on poetry, fiction, and drama; on autobiography, slave narratives, Sunday School literature, and oratory; as well as on a wide spectrum of related topics."
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"A bio-bibliographical guide to current authors and their works."

Cited in Sheehy. This revised edition of the standard reference on living poets in the English language now includes 900 poets. Each entry includes biography, complete list of published works, guide to criticism of the poet, and critical evaluative essay. The foreword to this edition, by Diane Wakoski, is everything her admirers (and rivals) would expect--contentious and compelling--virtually a summary of the current state of American poetry. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

In addition to facts about Shakespeare's life and works, Boyce includes in his encyclopedia a brief biography of Shakespeare, scene- by-scene synopses, critical commentary on every play, analyses of characters and biographical information on figures in Shakespeare's life. Boyce, a freelance writer specializing in Elizabethan England, notes that this reference is not intended as scholarship, but he incorporates entries on important scholars, documents, and literary and theatrical terms. This revised edition includes a discussion of Edward III, a new addition to the canon, and recent scholarship about Shakespeare's possible Catholicism and his probable collaboration with other playwrights. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Defining Gender is structured in five sections, each containing a substantial body of original source material, together with thematic essays by leading scholars in the field. The thematic essays introduce students to the material, suggest possible approaches, and place the documents within a broad historical, literary and cultural context. The sources all have distinct URLs and can be readily integrated into course packs or projected in the classroom.

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada provides detailed biographies of important figures in Canadian history from the year 1000 to 1930. This free online resource is produced by Library and Archives Canada, in partnership with Universite Laval and the University of Toronto, and reproduces the full contents of the print Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada.

Provides more than 16,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, andcareers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres.Comprised of the award-winning Dictionary of Literary Biography series, which over its30-year history has been dedicated to making literature and its creators betterunderstood and more accessible to students and interested readers, DLB Complete Onlineprovides reliable information in an easily comprehensible format while placing writersin the larger perspective of literary history. Specifically, DLB Complete Onlineincludes the DLB main series, the DLB Documentary Series, and the DLB Yearbook Series -the latter two of which have never been electronically available. Additionally, DLBComplete Online will include the extremely valuable images from the above DLB series -again, content that has never been available online.

Interim Index available.

"Searchable and browsable database of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day. It also offers full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. It contains a significant amount of new international dissertations and theses both in citations and in full text. Includes citations for dissertations and theses from around the world, ranging from 1861 to those accepted last semester. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts; master's theses from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. Digital dissertations and theses are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution. Designated as an official offsite repository for the U.S. Library of Congress, PQDT Global offers comprehensive historic and ongoing coverage for North American works and significant and growing international coverage from a multiyear program of expanding partnerships with international universities and national associations."

All PhD dissertations and Master's theses from depositing universities are available from 1997 onwards, unless the document's author has requested a temporary delay.

It is also possible to search within an interface exclusive to Dissertations & Theses @ University of New Brunswick.

For UNB theses submitted after 2012, please consult UNB’s institutional repository, UNB Scholar, or the library catalogue, UNBWorldCat.
Permitted Use | Subscribed multi-user unlimited access | 1743-Current

EEBO is based on the microfilm collections curated by the Ann Arbor publisher Eugene B. Power (1905-1993). The founder of what became University Microfilms International or UMI, Power’s first foreign project established the microfilming operation at the British Museum in 1942 and, since then, more than 200 libraries worldwide have contributed to the microfilm collection.

Following its digital launch in 1998, Early English Books Online now contains page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere between 1473 and 1700.

This matched pair of books is not a good choice for most libraries on several counts. First, the paper binding will not withstand normal library use. But more important, the contents are not what the publisher suggests. The promotional literature states that all major Canadian authors are included, but French Canadian novelists and poets are excluded. Even among English Canadians, many popular authors have been passed over, including L.M. Montgomery (famous for her Anne of Green Gables series) and W.P. Kinsella (author of Shoeless Joe, the novel on which the movie Field of Dreams was based). Also missing are Arthur Hailey (Airport), W.D. Valgardson, and several others. Given the current sensitivity toward balance for ethnic minorities, it should be noted that aboriginal Canadians are not included in appropriate numbers. Women are also underrepresented relative to their contribution to Canadian literature. Finally, none of the writers included was born within the past 50 years. The books' organizational features are also a concern: neither volume has a preface or introduction; entries are listed chronologically by the writers' birthdates; and there is no alphabetical index to the contents, so it is tedious to determine whether on not a given author is included. The selection criteria used by the editors (who are not identified on the title page) are not explained, and the credentials of the contributors are not supplied. Entries vary in length from two to ten pages, and there is no standard format, resulting in inconsistencies in treatment. Five writers who are both novelists and poets are covered in both volumes. In one case the same essay is used; in others there are different essays by the same contributor, or essays by different contributors. For biographical information, the volumes of Dictionary of Literary Biography that treat Canadian authors (v. 53, 60, 68, 88, 92, 99) are a much better choice. The titles are recommended here (but without enthusiasm) only for smaller libraries that do not own DLB. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This matched pair of books is not a good choice for most libraries on several counts. First, the paper binding will not withstand normal library use. But more important, the contents are not what the publisher suggests. The promotional literature states that all major Canadian authors are included, but French Canadian novelists and poets are excluded. Even among English Canadians, many popular authors have been passed over, including L.M. Montgomery (famous for her Anne of Green Gables series) and W.P. Kinsella (author of Shoeless Joe, the novel on which the movie Field of Dreams was based). Also missing are Arthur Hailey (Airport), W.D. Valgardson, and several others. Given the current sensitivity toward balance for ethnic minorities, it should be noted that aboriginal Canadians are not included in appropriate numbers. Women are also underrepresented relative to their contribution to Canadian literature. Finally, none of the writers included was born within the past 50 years. The books' organizational features are also a concern: neither volume has a preface or introduction; entries are listed chronologically by the writers' birthdates; and there is no alphabetical index to the contents, so it is tedious to determine whether on not a given author is included. The selection criteria used by the editors (who are not identified on the title page) are not explained, and the credentials of the contributors are not supplied. Entries vary in length from two to ten pages, and there is no standard format, resulting in inconsistencies in treatment. Five writers who are both novelists and poets are covered in both volumes. In one case the same essay is used; in others there are different essays by the same contributor, or essays by different contributors. For biographical information, the volumes of Dictionary of Literary Biography that treat Canadian authors (v. 53, 60, 68, 88, 92, 99) are a much better choice. The titles are recommended here (but without enthusiasm) only for smaller libraries that do not own DLB. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

A comprehensive digital edition of The Eighteenth Century microfilm set, which has aimed to include every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom, along with thousands of important works from the Americas, between 1701 and 1800. Consists of books, pamphlets, broadsides, ephemera. Subject categories include history and geography; fine arts and social sciences; medicine, science, and technology; literature and language; religion and philosophy; law; general reference. Also included are significant collections of women writers of the eighteenth century, collections on the French Revolution, and numerous eighteenth-century editions of the works of Shakespeare. Where they add scholarly value or contain important differences, multiple editions of each individual work are offered. Allows searching Early English Books Online as an option.

Focusing on the making of African American society from the 1896 "separate but equal" ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson up to the contemporary period, this encyclopedia traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Brown ruling that overturned Plessy , the Civil Rights Movement, and the ascendant influence of African-American culture on the American cultural landscape. --publisher description.
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Impressively comprehensive, this reference updates the first edition published in 1996 and the Supplement, in 2001, and will be valuable for high school and undergraduate students as well as general readers. It contains 1,300 entries, two-thirds of which are revised, rewritten, or newly added; and half the remainder have updated bibliographies. Many of the new articles are thematic, for example, those on the African diaspora, anti-colonial movements, economic condition, and military experience. Several new entries are devoted to topics in the Caribbean. The central focus is on the experience of African-Americans throughout North and South America, although the people, concepts, and events associated with the U.S. predominate (due to the larger amount of scholarship). Biographical entries profile political and public figures as well as artists, writers, and musicians. Each entry concludes with a list of cross-references and a bibliography. An introductory article provides a background history of Africa. Volume Six is devoted to a selection of primary documents, an appendix with numerous tables of statistics and lists on all topics, and a comprehensive index. Annotation #169;2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This up-to-date reference book brings together three hundred leading Canadianists to look at literature in Canada from a variety of perspectives. In over two thousand entries that attest to Canada's cultural plurality, the Encyclopedia covers literature in English and French, and also in such other languages as Yiddish, Spanish, Haida, and Cree. It discusses authors and their work, related literary and social issues, professional institutions that play a role in the lives of Canadian writers, and the major historical and cultural events that have shaped Canada. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

"Medieval" is used loosely in the title of this volume, as literatures of the world from 500-1500 are included, with literatures of India, China, Japan, and all the Islamic world featured beside those of western Europe (though European entries predominate). The result is a rich resource of the most well known examples world literature. The author entries discuss the author's most famous work, often by detailing its narrative content. Some entries are included on characters, motifs or term, with discussion of its occurrence and use in several examples. The approximately 700 entries, which were written by Ruud (English, U. of Arkansas) and 12 other scholars at American universities, are alphabetical by name of author or work; each concludes with a brief bibliography. Annotation #169;2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

High school and undergraduate students as well as general readers will find this two-volume reference a useful starting point to their study of the medieval era in Europe and the Mediterranean. The entries are detailed, providing lengthy treatment of the life of the figure, or the era, noting the significant political events and people. The entries are cross referenced and conclude with a bibliography of scholarly sources. Care has been taken to include essential figures and concepts of Islam. A selection of entry topics--including Edessa, Eleanor of Aquitaine, eschatology, al- Farabi, furs and fur trade, al-Fustat, heaven, pallium, parasites, and Theophano--demonstrates the range of subjects. English teaches history at the U. of California, Santa Barbara. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Consists of articles on all aspects of the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century, exploring art, architecture, religion, law, science, language, philosophy, and theology, as well as cultural, religious, intellectual, social and political history. With a focus on focus on Europe and Christendom, the Encyclopedia also covers the rise of Islam and people of other cultures with whom Europeans came into contact.

The English Poetry Database "contains poems in English from Anglo-Saxon times to the end of the nineteenth century by writers from the British Isles. The database covers the works of 1,257 named poets and many items by different anonymous hands."

Expands Poetry explication: a checklist of interpretation, Kuntze, et al. (1980). Surveys interpretations of English-language poetry in journals and books published from about 1925 through 1989. The three subsequent volumes will cover Renaissance, Restoration through Victorian, and Modern British poetry; two volumes on American poetry were published in 1989. The arrangement is alphabetical by author; about two-thirds of the volume cover anonymous, Beowulf, and Chaucer. Unannotated. No index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Eighty-six essays from around the world discuss various aspects of children's literature. Divided into five parts, they examine theory and critical approaches (definition, history, ideology, linguistics, styles); types and genres (from fairy tales and religious texts to science fiction and children's magazines); the context of children's literature (design, publishing, reviewing, censorship, prizes, translations, alternative media, libraries); applications (literacy, teaching, librarianship, bibliotherapy, publishing); and the development of children's literature in countries other than the US. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Contains brief, signed articles on key concepts that are used frequently in the study of children's literature.

Provides Online access to the content of the following reference works on literature: Twentieth-century literary criticism, Nineteenth-century literature criticism, Literature criticism 1400-1800, Shakespeare criticism, Contemporary literary criticism, and Children's literature review.

Literature Online offers full text access to rare and inacessible works, up-to-date, reference resources, in addition to the full text of poetry, drama, and prose fiction from the seventh century to the present day. Materials are included from almost every period and genre of English literature as well as many works by 20th century authors. Contemporary criticism is available through the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL).

"Since 1979, the London Review of Books has stood up for the tradition of the literary and intellectual essay in English. Each issue contains up to 15 long reviews and essays by academics, writers and journalists. There are also shorter art and film reviews, as well as poems and a lively letters page."
1979-current | Subscribed multi-user unlimited access

Covers social, cultural, and political life from the Anglo-Saxon invasions of the fifth century to the turn of the sixteenth century. Includes such aspects as art, architecture, law, literature, kings, commoners, women, music, commerce, technology, warfare, and religion. Also provides insights into England's ties with the Celtic world of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland; the French and Anglo-Norman world on the continent; the Viking and Scandinavian world of the North Sea; and to Christendom. The articles are signed, and sometimes present contradictory opinions, demonstrating the uncertainty of much modern scholarship about the period. Each article concludes with a bibliography, divided when appropriate into primary and secondary, and indicates related topics. The index distinguishes between main entries and passing mentions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

"The greatest achievement in Medieval scholarship in America." The MED offers a comprehensive reference tool for English language and usage in the period 1100-1500.

MLA International Bibliography is a subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literature, folklore, film, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing. Listings on rhetoric and composition and the history, theory and practice of teaching language and literature are also included. Dating back to 1925, the database contains more than 2.7 million citations, over 6,000 journals and series, 1,200 book publishers and over 372,000 subject names and terms and adds over 66,000 records annually (May 2018).

Coverage is international and includes titles and full-text links from online publishers including JSTOR, Project MUSE, Wiley-Blackwell and Taylor & Francis.

The MLA Directory of Periodicals contains all information available on the journals and series on the bibliography's Master List of Periodicals.
Subscribed multi-user unlimited access | 1925-Current

Nineteenth Century Collections Online is a digitization and publishing program focusing on primary source collections of the long nineteenth century. The program includes a variety of content types--monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, statistics, and more--and unites them in one central, cross-searchable location. 12 collections are now available:

Individual titles in these collections are available for discovery in our eBooks search or in UNBWorldCat:
• Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange
• British Politics and Society
• British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture
• Children's Literature and Childhood
• European Literature, 1790-1840: The Corvey Collection
• Mapping the World: Maps and Travel Literature
• Religion, Society, Spirituality, and Reform
• Science, Technology, and Medicine: 1780-1925, Part II

Individual titles in these collections can only be discoverd in the NCCO site:
• Europe and Africa: Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest
• Photography: The World through the Lens
• Science, Technology, and Medicine: 1780-1925, Part I
• Women: Transnational Networks

Notable American Novelists provides biographical information and plot summaries for some of the 19th and 20th century's most prominent American authors and their work. 

"Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO) is an entirely new research tool for the social sciences and humanities. A scholar-curated library of discipline-based subject modules, OBO is designed to help busy researchers find reliable sources of information in half the time by directing them to exactly the right chapter, book, website, archive, or data set they need for their research."
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A comprehensive one-volume reference work devoted to the lives, works and careers of more than 400 writers. Also includes coverage of literary genres, autobiography, journalism, the black periodical press, major libraries and research centers, religion, literary societies, women's clubs, and more.

The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature was first published in 1983 to great acclaim. In the years since its publication Canadian literature has enjoyed an explosion of creative talent. This exciting new edition reflects this vivid flowering, adding more than 360 new entries as well as updating material from the original to reflect recent publications and changes in the biographies of writers previously included. As before, the entries cover fiction, prose, poetry, and drama, prominent writers, literary magazines, and publishers. Highlights include The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Sandra Birdsell, Neil Bissoondath, Boston Mills Press, Caribbean-Canadian literature, Censorship, Creeps, The English Patient, William Gibson, Gay and Lesbian Literature, Barbara Gowdy, The Handmaid's Tale, Alberto Manguel, and The Rebel Angels, among many others. This completely revised edition is not only an indispensable resource, but a browser's delight for anyone interested in Canadian literature. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

The last thirty years have witnessed one of the most fertile periods in the history of children's books: the flowering of imaginative illustration and writing, the Harry Potter phenomenon, the rise of young adult and crossover fiction, and books that tackle extraordinarily difficult subjects. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature provides an indispensable and fascinating reference guide to the world of children's literature. Its 3,500 entries cover every genre from fairy tales to chapbooks; school stories to science fiction; comics to children's hymns. Originally published in 1983, the Companion has been comprehensively revised and updated by Daniel Hahn. Over 900 new entries bring the book right up to date. A whole generation of new authors and illustrators are showcased, with books like Dogger, The Hunger Games, and Twilight making their first appearance. There are articles on developments such as manga, fan fiction, and non-print publishing, and there is additional information on prizes and prizewinners. This accessible A to Z is the first place to look for information about the authors, illustrators, printers, publishers, educationalists, and others who have influenced the development of children's literature, as well as the stories and characters at their centre. Written both to entertain and to instruct, the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to Children's Literature is a reference work that no one interested in the world of children's books should be without.
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The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms provides clear and concise definitions of the most troublesome literary terms, from abjection to zeugma. Now expanded and in its fourth edition, it includes increased coverage of new terms from modern critical and theoretical movements, such as feminism, schools of American poetry, Spanish verse forms, life writing, and crime fiction.

It includes extensive coverage of traditional drama, versification, rhetoric, and literary history, as well as updated and extended advice on recommended further reading and a pronunciation guide to more than 200 terms. Completely revised and updated, this edition also features brand-new entries on terms such as distant reading, graphic novels, middle generation, and misery memoir.

5 simultaneous users

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an illustrated/fulltext reference tool providing 55,000 specially-written signed biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of the British past from the earliest times to the end of the year 2000. It is the product of research instituted at the University of Oxford and funded by the British Academy and by Oxford University Press. It is the achievement of 10,000 contributors and advisers staff in Oxford. The Oxford DNB aims to provide full, accurate, concise, and readable articles on noteworthy people in all walks of life. No living person is included: the Dictionary's articles are confined to people who died before 31 December 2000.

"The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages is an essential new reference work covering all key aspects of European history, society, and culture from 500 to 1500 A.D., as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era. It is designed both for medievalists, who need a detailed and reliable reference tool, and for students and general readers seeking an accessible guide to the period. Over 800 scholars have assembled thousands of comprehensive entries, lavishly supplemented by hundreds of illustrations and dozens of maps."
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Children's literature first became a distinct body of writing and publishing in the eighteenth century. Until the seventeenth century, children were usually considered as smaller versions of adults. As the notion of "childhood" as a distinct part of life emerged, a distinct body of literature emerged as well, designed both to entertain and edify this new class of readers. But for much of its history, books written for children were not seen as worthy of scholarly attention. Recently this has changed with everyone from literary critics, to psychologists, to anthropologists, to historians studying this incredibly rich outpouring. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature is the first multi-volume set to document and interpret the books read by children in the English-speaking world. It includes brief biographies of every major author and illustrator, and features essays on all genres of children's literature, individual works, and prominent trends and themes, as well as general essays on the traditions of children's literature in many country in the world.
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The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, edited by Bonnie G. Smith, captures the experiences of women throughout history in a far-reaching, four-volume work. Although there has been extensive research on women in history by region, no other text or reference work has comprehensively covered the role women have played throughout world history. With over 650 biographies of influential women and over 600 topical articles covering topics such as geography and history, culture and society, organizations, movements, and gender studies, Women in World History is the definitive reference work in the field.

"This unique and powerful resource offers unprecedented access to the definitive record of the meaning, history and evolution of more than 600,000 words over the last 1,500 years."A complete text of the 2nd. ed. of the Oxford English dictionary with quarterly updates, including revisions not available in any other form.
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Multi-part database of the online versions of Oxford University Press texts. Each topical division contains the searchable version of the latest edition of published dictionaries and encyclopedias. Additionally, information about Oxford University Press is provided. Online texts will be updated after new editions of the print monographs are published.Covers the humanities and social sciences.
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Contains full text and translation of the meetings of the English parliaments from Edward I to Henry VII, covering the years from 1275 to 1504.

InteLex Past Masters is comprised of 100+ full-text humanities and sciences databases that make available cohesive collections of editions, in both original language and in English translation, of seminal figures in the humanities and sciences.

Textual holdings: 1949/52 - 1998/2002

UNB subscribes to a few collections of eBooks through this one access point, including both a mix of subscribed and purchased titles, along with faculty selected purchased titles. These are fulltext, searchable databases of books, maps and other authoritative documents in all academic disciplines. Many books now allow complete downloading.

eBook Collection title lists:

• Ebook Central Academic Complete
• ProQuest Ebook Central - Cambridge eBooks (purchased)
• ProQuest Ebook Central - Irwin Law (purchased)
• ProQuest Ebook Central - Oxford eBooks (purchased)
• ProQuest Ebook Central - Selected Titles (purchased)

Shakespeare's use of sexual language, imagery and erotic themes is extensive, varied, and although this is necessarily hard to establish, probably innovative at times. This glossary provides a first-hand guide to Shakespeare's sexual language, some of which is notoriously difficult to unravel and whose roots go back into earlier literature.

This digital collection documents key aspects of the history of slavery worldwide over six centuries. Topics covered include the African Coast, the Middle Passage, the varieties of slave experience, religion, revolts, abolition, and legislation. The collection also includes case studies from America, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Cuba.

"This new and updated Guide, with over 2,700 cross-referenced entries, covers all aspects of the American theatre from its earliest history to the present. Entries include people, venues and companies scattered through the U.S., plays and musicals, and theatrical phenomena. Additionally, there are some 100 topical entries covering theatre in major U.S. cities and such disparate subjects as Asian American theatre, Chicano theatre, censorship, Filipino American theatre, one-person performances, performance art, and puppetry. Highly illustrated, the Guide is supplemented with a historical survey as introduction, a bibliography of major sources published since the first edition, and a biographical index covering over 3,200 individuals mentioned in the text."--BOOK JACKET. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Alphabetised reference work on children's books from King Alfred to J. K. Rowling.

The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English provides, in a single volume, the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of literature in English available today. Substantially enlarged and updated for this new edition, it covers all the major novelists, poets, and dramatists of the classical canon and of contemporary literature, from Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, and Conrad to Saul Bellow, Adrienne Rich, Les Murray, Wole Soyinka, R.K. Narayan, Janet Frame, Mordecai Richler, Joseph Brodsky, and John Coetzee. Unique among literature guides, this volume provides extensive, multicultural coverage of all literature written in English, including Indian, Caribbean, Australian, African, Canadian, and Irish, as well as British and American. More than one hundred specialist contributors provide biographical and critical articles on writers and their works, critics, philosophers, historians, and biographers. Substantial coverage is also given to such literary genres as popular fiction, science fiction, detective novels and children's classics. Literary concepts such as structuralism, tragedy, and irony are described, and full explanations are provided for movements from neoclassicism to postmodernism. Hailed in its first edition as "indispensable" and "path-breaking" (Los Angeles Times), and for having "immense browsability" (Anthony Burgess) and "breadth of vision" (The Guardian), this new edition of The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English is the definitive handbook to the vast, diverse, and extraordinarily rich heritage of English literature. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Updated and significantly revised, this is the most comprehensive guide to theatre currently available.

The first of three volumes looking at the turbulent public life of performance in Britain. Volume One covers pre-Elizabethan theatre.
Purchased multi-user unlimited access

From Aboriginal writing to Margaret Atwood, this is a complete English-language history of Canadian writing in English and French from its beginnings.
Purchased multi-user unlimited access

Free online encyclopedia, containing the full text of the print Canadian Encyclopedia, "the most comprehensive source of information on all things Canadian." Includes the full text of the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.

Cited under its present title in Walford, 5th ed. and under its previous title, Granger's Index to Poetry, in Books for College Libraries, 3d ed. and Sheehy. The second edition of this essential reference features expanded coverage, now that Granger's has published a separate volume for poetry in anthologies. With the criterion that the poem probably be held in a college library, the editors have included 315 collected and selected works (these are listed at the beginning) by 266 poets, with more than 65,000 poems cited in the indexes by title, first line, author, and subject. This edition features the newest translations and editions as well as the addition of new poets and poets appearing for the first time in English translation. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This reprint from 2001 lists 97 topics and 1200 entries on authors and illustrators of literature for children and young adults around the world over a period of 150 years, mainly in the English language. Author and illustrator listings include date and place of birth and death, biographical information, critical considerations of their works, achievements, awards, and bibliographies. Indexed topics in the encyclopedia range from genres to books as films, Disney, censorship, specific awards, and young adult literature. Cullinan is a writer and editor, and Person is a children's librarian. Annotation #169;2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

To help students approach Shakespeare's works without "shuddering fear," this comprehensive companion provides a grounding in the author's life and work. The first volume contains essays about Shakespeare's personal history and his times, including the state of the theater and the English language in his day. The second half of volume one is dedicated to Shakespeare's history plays. Volumes two, three, and four discuss the comedies, tragedies, and comedies, respectively. Volume four also covers Shakespeare's sonnets and the narrative poems. The discussions of the plays include scene-by-scene plot summaries, publication history, sources, structure, plotting, characters and themes. The essays also explicate key passages and consider critical discourse about the works. An annotated bibliography accompanies each essay; an annotated list of relevant websites and a selected bibliography are appended to volume four. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gwendolyn Bennett was a poet and writer of short stories, and although she never published a book of either she kept the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance alive. Anne Spencer worked on her poetry 16 years before she was discovered and published, but it took almost no time before actor and writer Paul Robeson was discovered to be a socialist and reviled. In hundreds of objective and accessible entries, high school students, undergraduates and general readers can get the basics on the issues, events and people of African American literature. Contributors describe how writers, filmmakers and commentators reacted to social and political events, a unique approach that helps to define contexts. Writers, journalists, and editors are joined by others generally ignored in the literary world, including publishers, writers' collectives, niche journals, advocacy groups and marketeers. Entries include impressive lists of resources. Annotation #169;2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

In order to incorporate new information into Bordman's reference without the volume filling up with gaps or becoming too heavy to lift, playwright Hischak (State U. of New York-Cortland) has shortened and combined existing entries rather than dropping them entirely whenever possible. More plays, musical, and people are included, but also new entries on such topics as Asian American theater, gay and lesbian theater, the redevelopment of 42nd Street, solo performances, road tours, AIDS, participatory theater events, and various New York theater companies. Entries of plays include plot summaries and sample reception. Extensive cross-referencing substitutes for an index. Annotation #169;2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Containing encyclopedic coverage of all aspects of English literature from Homer to hypertext, The Oxford Companion to English Literature has been a standard source for students, scholars and general readers since the 1930s. The sixth edition, edited by the novelist Margaret Drabble, contains over 8,000 entries on writers, their works, and their cultural contexts, as well as discussions of critics, literary theory, allusions, and characters from novels and plays. The appendices containing the chronology and lists of literary award winners have been updated, as have many of the entries. Annotation #169;2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Contains brief entries on genres, issues and individual authors.

"This authoritative guide provides accounts of the 1,000 most important, best-known, and most popular plays of world theatre. Invaluable for students and teachers of drama, everyone who loves going to the theatre, and anyone - amateur or professional - who is looking for a play to put on." "Features: provides a summary of each play's plot, and a commentary on its context and performance history; includes details of setting, genre, authorship, and cast; plays are arranged in A-Z order for accessibility, while a classified contents list helps the reader to find the information they need; and appendices include an index of playwrights and an index of major characters."--BOOK JACKET. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

This reference book contains 26 articles by key scholars in the field of children's literature and that touch on key texts both historical and contemporary.

Davis and Frankforter list "every name, proper adjective, official title, literary and musical title and place

A concise survey of the competing editions of Shakespeare, providing readers and potential buyers with the basic information they need to choose the edition most appropriate to their requirements. It covers both editions of the complete works and editions of individual plays.

The 1983/84, 1985/86, 1987/88, and 1992/93 editions are held in HIL-REF.

Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online "is a vast new online library giving instant access to the most authoritative and up-to-date scholarship across the humanities and social sciences. With more than 350 reference volumes to be published in Blackwell Reference Online by the end of 2008, it is the largest academic reference collection available online and includes the critically-acclaimed Blackwell Companions and Handbooks, major reference works such as the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management and the Companion to Syntax, and a whole host of other valuable reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and concise companions."

Female patronage of the arts and the church, female mysticism and devotional practices, women's medicine and understandings of the female body, and women's roles in politics and diplomacy are among the activities discussed in the 563 signed articles, each with cross-references to other articles and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. The very few illustrations are monochrome. Annotation #169;2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

More than 300 entries (many biographical) detailing women's experience in the medieval world. 

Projected to be 15 volumes upon completion in late 2000 (with an index to follow in mid-2001), this ambitious set will be international in scope and span from antiquity to the 20th century. (The first three volumes are reviewed here.) The scope is generally limited to women born before 1926, except for those active in the women's movement or whose place in history is assured. Initially hatched while the editors were working on Historic World Leaders (1994)--which profiled mainly men--this resource will include more than 10,000 entries varying in length from several pages to brief paragraphs. Frequent sidebars give information on women closely associated with the main entry, and numerous See references address name variations. Although indexes by time period, nationality, and subject would greatly enhance its usefulness as a reference, this set far exceeds recent single-volume international dictionaries (the Larousse Dictionary of Women, LJ 1/97, has about 3000 entries) and is unlikely to have any competitors on this scale soon. Recommended for large public and academic libraries and women's studies collections.Patricia A. Beaber, Coll. of New Jersey, Ewing Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information