An indispensable guide to over 400 authors, with in-depth analyses of their significant works of fiction, drama, nonfiction, young adult literature, and poetry. Critical Survey of American Literature offers 412 detailed profiles of major American authors of fiction, drama, and poetry, each with sections on biography, general analysis, and analysis of the author's most important works. Arranged in an easy-to-use A-Z format, each entry in Critical Survey of American Literature begins with important ready-reference material including Name, Birth & Death Dates, and a statement explaining the writer's literary importance. 

Pub Date: December 2016

ISBN: 978-1-68217-128-8

Price: $499

Critical Survey of World Literature profiles major authors of fiction, drama, poetry, and essays, each with sections on biography, general analysis, and analysis of the author’s most important works—novels, short stories, poems, and works of nonfiction. The completely updated edition covers 400 writers at the heart of literary studies. This edition includes new coverage of contemporary authors from around the globe. Among the new authors profiled in this set are such well-known authors as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Reinaldo Arenas, Alberto Fuguet, Yann Martel, Orhan Pamuk, and Jorge Volpi.

Pub Date: January 2018

ISBN: 978-1-68217-615-3

Price: $499

The third edition of The Critical Survey of Drama contains 638 new and updated essays—over 550 discuss individual dramatists and 60 cover important overview topics that are critical to the study of drama as a whole. The 64 overview essays are arranged under broad subject headings in volumes 1 and 2. They cover dramatic traditions in the United States, the British Isles, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and other parts of the world, as well as various genres and techniques. Among the overview essays included in this edition are articles on Native American Drama, American Regional Theater, Asian Drama, Southeast Asian Drama, Melodrama, Deaf Theater, Feminist Theater, and many more.

Pub Date: December 2017

ISBN: 978-1-68217-622-1

Price: $599

Critical Survey of Young Adult Literature aims to discuss the most representative young adult works that form today's canon for academic coursework and library collection development, with over 300 essays of clear, concise, and accessible analysis. This collection includes classic young adult titles like The Outsiders, popular series like Divergent, plus a variety of significant themes, film adaptations, and other sections important to the popular young adult category. This single-volume comprises biographies, plot summaries, film adaptations, themes, and genres of young adult literature with dozens of images of authors or book jackets of influential works. 

Pub Date: April 2016

ISBN: 978-1-61925-971-3

Price: $185

The Fourth Edition of Critical Survey of Short Fiction includes all writers from the previous edition and adds 145 new ones, covering 625 writers in total. Altogether, the writers covered in this set represent 44 countries and the history of short fiction from antiquity to the 21st century. The set also offers 53 informative overviews; 24 of these essays were added for this edition, including all the literary movement essays. In addition, seven resources are provided, two of them new. Author portraits are included as available. The material in the Critical Survey of Short Fiction has been organized into six subsets by geography and type.

ISBN: 978-1-58765-789-4

Ten Volumes

Price: $1095

This edition includes all 581 original author essays as well as 97 additional ones, expanding the set to ten volumes and covering more than 60 countries and the literary fiction from the 10th century to the 21st. All the original essays were evaluated for their currency, and 130 of them were replaced or substantially revised, in some cases by the original contributors. The sections "Other Literary Forms," "Achievements," "Biography," and "Analysis" were updated to include recent developments: new titles or awards, changes in residence or employment, and alterations in critical and popular reception. 

ISBN: 978-1-58765-535-7

Ten Volumes

Price: $995

Pub Date: May 2019

ISBN: 978-1-68217-913-0

Price: $395

History, Theme & Technique collects more than 80 essays on the evolution of the graphic novel, from its conceptual beginnings to its gradual acceptance. This volume covers the unique process of creating a product both in art and in word; historical overviews track the complex development of this important art form, while the survey of key themes, genres, and events helps provide an important foundation for future research.

Pub Date: March 2019

ISBN: 978-1-68217-911-6

Price: $195

Manga, which represents a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, collects more than sixty-five of the most popular and studied manga graphic novels, ranging from metaseries to stand-alone books. A continued influx of translated Japanese manga into the American market has sparked a greater interest in foreign-language traditions and long-form comics.

Pub Date: October 2018

ISBN: 978-1-68217-912-3

Price: $195

This two-volume set covers more than 150 well-regarded works of the hero or superhero genre, summarizing plots and analyzing the works in terms of their literary integrity and overall contribution to the graphic novel landscape. It contains works from prominent publishers, as well as leading hero or superhero titles from alternative and independent publishing houses. The entries in this encyclopedic set cover a wide range of periods and trends in the heroes and superheroes genre: from the social relevance of Green Lantern/Green Arrow during the Bronze Age of Comic Books to the grim satire of Watchmen in the Modern Age.

Pub Date: March 2019

ISBN: 978-1-68217-911-6

Price: $195

Pub Date: September 2013

ISBN: 978-1-61925-181-6

Price: $175

Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: Gods & Goddesses examines the major and minor deities from a broad range of regions and cultures throughout the world. This set is distinguished by contemporary perspectives on the cultural contexts from which mythology and folklore originate. Each of the ten sections in the set examines the culture or civilization in which these gods and goddesses were important by reviewing the religious practices, literature, mythology, and culture prevalent in each region. The gods and goddesses are discussed in detail to paint a picture of the powers and significance they held.

Pub Date: September 2019

ISBN: 978-1-64265-115-7

Price: $295

The Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: World Mythology presents articles on myths, folktales, legends, and other traditional literature. Drawing upon the most widely-read literature, this volume covers a diverse range of authors, countries, and cultures. Articles begin with a summary that offers readers the major actions and characters in the tale followed by an analysis of the important cultural and social interpretations of the author and myth. Myths in the volume are organized by regions of the world and cultures, such as Oceania, South East Asia, and Meso-America.

Pub Date: December 2013

ISBN: 978-1-61925-182-3

Price: $175

Pub Date: January 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4298-3765-1

Price: $295