Encyclopedia of the Essay [Hardcover]

Tracy Chevalier (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997

The Encyclopedia of the Essay is the first reference work entirely devoted to the essay as a genre, reflecting the explosion of academic interest in this field. Coverage begins with Montaigne, the first essayist, and stretches forward to Addison and Steele, The Spectator and The Tatler , Marivaux, William Hazlitt, Jose Ortega y Gasset, Robert Musil, Theodor Adorno, Nouvelle Revue Fran?aise, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, and across the ocean to Emerson and Thoreau, E.B. White, The New Yorker and Harper's , James Baldwin, Susan Sontag, Joan Didion, while also looking back to classical and medieval precursors. Over 400 writers from around the world are included, along with geographical surveys providing historical frameworks, entries on kinds of essays, and entries on important single essays. Entries on closely related genres such as letters, journals, treatises, sermons, and reviews expand and explore the fluid boundaries of the essay.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is the first encyclopedia devoted entirely to the essay in all its many forms, from Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" and Pope's "Essay on Man" in verse to more conventional essays by figures such as Montaigne and Thoreau. International in scope, the work focuses on the last few centuries, since that is when the essay emerged as a literary form. There are entries for genres such as "travel essays," for various national traditions, important periodicals, "especially significant single essays," and individual essayists. The entries are well written and insightful, and include extensive bibliographies; the entries for individuals also include succinct biographical sketches. Most of the contributors are academics with impressive credentials. The volume's general editor, Chevalier, earlier edited the excellent Contemporary Poets (St. James, 1991. 5th ed.) and Twentieth Century Children's Writers (St. James, 1989. 3rd ed.). This is an excellent scholarly book that belongs in any library that supports belles-lettres.?Peter A. Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Scholars and students will find this resource a most useful and welcome addition to academic library collections. -- Booklist/RBB
This is the first encyclopedia devoted entirely to the essay in all its many forms...This is an excellent scholarly book that belongs in any library that supports belles-lettres. -- Library Journal
Indispensable; highly recommended for general and academic readers, all levels. -- Choice
A substantive reference, this work is highly recommended for all collections with a serious interest in literature. -- American Reference Books Annual
All collegiate and research collections, or indeed any institution interested in developing a quality reference collection on literature, should acquire and publicize this volume. -- Reference & User Services Quarterly
Must be regarded as the last work on essayists and their works... an impressive volume of which the editor, the contributors and the publishers may be justly proud. -- Reference Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884964303
• ISBN-13: 978-1884964305
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.9 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,632,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tracy Chevalier is the author of several bestselling novels, including the international bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Virgin Blue, Falling Angels, The Lady and the Unicorn and Burning Bright. Born in Washington, DC, she moved in 1984 to London, where she lives with her husband and son. She is Chairman of the Society of Authors.