Women Writers of Great Britain and Europe: An Encyclopedia (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) [Hardcover]

Katharina M. Wilson (Editor), Paul Schlueter (Editor), June Schlueter (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0815323433 | ISBN-13: 978-0815323433 | Edition: 1st ed

A valuable survey and reference resource It is hard to imagine a more needed and more useful literary reference work than this one, which gives students and readers quick access to the lives and work of a wide range of notable female writers from England and the Continent, from Aphra Behn to Emily Bronte, from Simone de Beauvoir to Isak Dinesen, from Bridget of Sweden to Hannah Arendt. Writers in more than 30 languages are included: French, Czech, Greek, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, German, Russian, Portuguese, Serbian, Catalan, Arabic, Hebrew, Dutch, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovak, and more. Covers 1,500 years and all major genres Going back 15 centuries, the Encyclopedia covers the authors of novels, short stories, poetry, plays, criticism, social commentary, feminist manifestos, romances, mysteries, memoirs, children's literature, biography, and other genres. In signed entries, some of which are mini-essays, experts in the field examine writers' lives and achievements, comment on individual works, place artistic efforts in historical context, provide insights and analyses, and present more information than can be easily found elsewhere without undertaking more exhaustive research. Each entry is followed by a bibliography of primary works. Indexed by language, nationality, genre, and century. Spotlights the interesting lives of notable writers In these pages students and readers will meet hundreds of interesting women writers who made lasting contributions to the intellectual and popular culture of their countries while often leading fascinating lives, among them: * AGATHA CHRISTIE , who wrote her first book in response to her sister's demand for a detective story that was harder to solve than the popular fiction of her day, and whose work has been translated in more languages than Shakespeare's. * HILDEGARD VON BINGEN , the 12th-century German mystic, who wrote profusely as a prophet, a poet, a dramatist, a physician, and a political moralist, often communicated with popes and princes, and exerted a tremendous influence on the Western Europe of her time * MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY, whose 1818 masterpiece Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus became a literary sensation around the world * ILSE BLUMENTHAL-WEISS, one of the few concentration camp survivors to memorialize the victims of the Holocaust in German verse * LINA WERTMULLER, who in addition to her work in films, has written plays for the stage and a novel, and who once was a member of a short-lived puppet theater that staged the works of Kafka. Special features: Ideal for quick reference and student research * Multicultural-covers over 30 languages and 15 centuries * Includes many contemporary writers * Provides essential biographic data on each writer * Each entry is followed by a chronological listing of the writer's published book-length works * Offers critical evaluations of major works * Indexes help find writers by country...research by time period...survey genres...focus on languages

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This encyclopedia provides selective coverage of notable women writers from Great Britain and Europe throughout 15 centuries in history. More than 600 writers are represented, including some from as far back as the seventh century B.C. A number of contemporary writers are also covered. Some of the authors featured in this work are Simone de Beauvoir, Emily Bronte, Barbara Cartland, Agatha Christie, Anne Frank, Mary Shelley, and Christa Wolf. The breadth of literary contributions made by these women includes novels, short stories, poetry, plays, criticism, social commentary, feminist manifestos, romances, mysteries, memoirs, and children's literature. Each signed entry discusses the author's life and works, accomplishments and contributions, and her significance in regard to the larger literary world. Following each essay is a bibliography of the writer's work in both the original language and in the English translation. The bibliographies contain no biographical or critical works about the authors. A few of the entries are accompanied by portraits or photographs. There is no index, but at the end of the encyclopedia are three lists: a list categorizing each author by the country with which she identified throughout her literary career; a list of pseudonyms and lesser-known names; and a list of authors by century. These are useful features; the list of entries by country, in particular, helps underscore the diversity of voices represented here.

The title is based on two previous Garland publications, Katharina Wilson's Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers [RBB Je 15 91] and the Schlueters' Encyclopedia of British Women Writers [RBB Ap 1 89]. Together, those earlier volumes profiled more than 2,000 writers and were praised for their coverage of writers who are not generally well known. Obviously, there has been a fairly rigorous selection process to determine what authors to include in the new work. Among the British writers that have been dropped are A. S. Byatt, Angela Cartwright, Isabel Colegate, Penelope Fitzgerald, and Ruth Rendell. Few if any authors appear to have been added. Entries have been revised and updated but not rewritten. In some cases, entries in the new work are, word-for-word, the same as those in the old.

There are numerous other reference sources available on women writers, and British women writers in particular. British Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide [RBB N 1 89] and The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers [RBB D 15 93] each cover around 400 authors. There is some overlap with the Dictionary of Literary Biography; of 80 authors examined in Women Writers of Great Britain and Europe, less than one-quarter appear in DLB. Some notable authors not found in DLB are Hannah Arendt, Nadezdha Mandelshtam, Olivia Manning, and Christine de Pizan. There is slightly more overlap with Cyclopedia of World Authors (3rd ed., Salem, 1997), which is probably a better choice for high-school and smaller public libraries because of its broader scope.

In spite of its greatly reduced coverage, Women Writers of Great Britain and Europe still provides useful information on less-well-known European writers. It is recommended for libraries that need to expand their holdings in this area and do not own the two volumes from which it is derived.

Review

An excellent comprehensive reference for high school and college collections.
–The Bookwatch

Provides useful information on less-well-known European writers. It is recommended for libraries that need to expand their holdings in this area.
–Reference Books Bulletin

The entries are detailed and well written. There is little (if anything) comparable.
–VOYA

The essays are uniformly well written and are packed with useful information.
–Choice

Product Details

• Hardcover: 584 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1st ed edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815323433
• ISBN-13: 978-0815323433
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,276,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)