A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

The work compiles concise biographical entries on English, American, and colonial writers, providing dates, brief career outlines, and lists of principal works. Containing upwards of 1,600 names and an appendix of living writers, it opens with notes on scope, sources, and abbreviations, and offers entries that range from short notices to fuller sketches for major figures. Authorities are collated where practicable, and attention is given to illustrative details of character and circumstance as well as to the leading features of each author's output, while acknowledging the practical limits of such a reference.