Does anyone know of a good reference book with synopsises of popular / classic books in it? Is there a definitive guide, in the same line as Halliwell’s Film guide?
I would like it to list author, all important characters, a brief outline of plot and dates, and perhaps a critical thought on the book in general. Is there such a guide available?
Thanks.
Gee, the only thing I have ever seen is something called “The Science Fiction Encyclopedia” (Or something close)
It was this thick tome of information on Sci-fi books that I almost bought a friend for X-mas. Lots of info, purely for the Sci-fi geek. Other than that…I do not have a clue.
-Tcat
The best source I know of for this kind of thing is the Masterplots series. They are also available online through the EBSCOhost service, if you have access to that.
Hope this helps.
What the hell happened there? Here’s how that should have read:
For access to EBSCOhost, check your local public library’s web site. Many libraries have this service in-house and can offer it remotely to their patrons, and all you need is your library card number to access it.
I couldn’t have said that better myself.
Ooops, I almost forgot! The Oxford Companion to English Literature (and there’s one for American lit., too) are good and they’re affordable if you’re looking for something you can have at home and can’t manage access to EBSCOhost.
And thanks, KneadToKnow, it’s just the librarian in me 
For classic books, try “The Reader’s Encylclopedia.” I’ve actually got an older edition on my desk (c. 1950), since the newer editions tend to give short shrift to older popular fiction. There’s another book on my desk but I can’t think of the name of it – let me check tomorrow and get back to you.
There’s a variety of resources out there. The Gale Group has a series called “Novels for Students,” “Poetry for Students” and “Drama for Students” - probably available in the reference section of any medium-sized library.
Gale also offers Contemporary Authors and Contemporary Literary Criticism. Both of these tools, available either in the library or online through a library subscribing to GaleNet, cover popular mainstream authors as well as canonical (20th century) writers.
They’re all very good resources, but none of them are “single” volumes if that’s specifically what you had in mind.
Thanks guys.
I have an (very) old “Readers Encylclopedia” and “The Oxford Companion to English Literature”, albeit an old one too. These are great books, but not the sort of thing I was looking for. It was more of a quick reference book to characters / story / author and dates.
I guess there are so many books out there it just isn’t feasible to put it all into one volume.
BTW, it was for a present, so the internet based services are no use, I’m afraid. Thanks for the suggestions though.
Aro, the Masterplots series are available as bound volumes and are reasonably priced for reference books. Check Amazon and/or eBay.