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RR 2011/324
Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Literature
Wiley-Blackwell
Malden, MA and Oxford
URL: www.literatureencyclopedia.com/public
Last visited March 2010
Contact vendor for pricing
Also available in printed volumes - see further details in review
Keywords Electronic media, Encyclopedias, Literature
Review DOI 10.1108/09504121111168613
"Encyclopedia of Literature" is a pretty broad remit for any publication. This online package draws together three titles also available as printed sets, The Encyclopedia of the Novel (2 vols. ISBN 978 1 4051 8312 3 £235 $395) (detailed review in the next issue of Reference Reviews), The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction (3 vols. ISBN 978 1 4051 9244 6 £235 $395), and The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory (3 vols. ISBN 978 1 4051 6184 8 £350 $595). During the time this reviewer had access to the online version of this resource the Encyclopedia homepage displayed images of the print editions and a note stating that forthcoming titles in the collection include The Encyclopedia of English Renaissance Literature, The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature (these two now confirmed for availability December 2011), The Encyclopedia of the Gothic, The Encyclopedia of British Literature: 1660-1789, and The Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies.
The front page offers an overview of each of the three encyclopedias that comprise the current package. In each instance a hypertext link to Table of Contents, About The Encyclopedia of the Novel (or Twentieth Century Fiction, or Literary and Cultural Theory), About the Editors, List of Contributors, List of Entries, clicks through to a detailed description of each. The Encyclopedia of the Novel has an additional About the Advisory Board section. The Table of Contents link clicks through to a split page with the Table of Contents on the left side of the screen and the text on the larger pane on the right. The opening page contains a brief product description, which is where a summary of each encyclopedia can be found along with some statistical context. The Encyclopedia of the Novel boasts "nearly 150 contributors and over 500,000 words", further in this translates into "over 150 articles of 500-7,000 words". The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction edited by Brian W. Shaffer features "over 500 entries", and The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory, edited by Michael Ryan, has "more than 200 accessible entries"....