The Columbia History of the British Novel

Путеводитель по истории английского романа, выполненный учёными Колумбийского университета.
Such standard texts as Ernest Baker's 11-volume History of the English Novel (1924-39) and Walter Allen's The English Novel (1955) were published many years ago. Those single-author opuses reflected their eras; the Columbia History, arranged chronologically, uses 39 essays by 39 scholars to present our own era's varied critical perspectives and to bring things up-to-date. Some essays are devoted to individual authors (e.g., Austen, Dickens), others to several authors (e.g., Amis, Snow, and Wilson), and still others to such topics as "The Gothic Novel, 1764–1824." Each essay has a brief selected bibliography; an appendix includes thumbnail sketches of 100 of the British novelists discussed. This excellent work is indispensable to any library supporting the study of English literature.