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Library Journal Review

This latest Magill entry in the reference field is similar in format to its companion set, Magill's Survey of American Literature . The 215 alphabetical author entries date from antiquity to the late 20th century and include the gamut of genres. The major emphasis is on European writers, especially the British, with representation of English-language writers from non-European countries; Latin American authors and a smattering of authors from classical Eastern culture are also included. Both established and more recent writers are represented, e.g., Margaret Atwood, Martin Amis, and Salman Rushdie. Each entry begins with a statement of the author's major achievement, followed by a biographical treatment and a critical summary of major works. Articles include a picture and conclude with a bibliography. Although the biographical information can be culled from other sources, the summaries are invaluable. This set will be a popular purchase for high school libraries, and public libraries that can't afford the ``Gale Author'' series will see it as a solid although less comprehensive alternative. It also offers an attractive alternative to Wilson's World Authors , which is also more affordable than the Gale series and includes American authors, yet only covers 1950-85 in the biocritical set.-- Mary Ellen Beck, Troy P.L., N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

This survey combines elements of both the Critical Survey and Masterplots series published by Salem Press and is similar to Magill's Survey of American Literature [RBB Mr 15 92]. Articles on 215 writers from antiquity to the present day are arranged alphabetically by name. Writers range from the classical, such as Aristotle and Plato, to contemporary figures, including Nobel Prize winners such as Czeslaw Milosz and more popular writers such as P. D. James and John le Carr{{‚}}e. Coverage is given to novelists, poets, dramatists, and masters of nonfiction and the short story, including the Asians Yukio Mishima and Skikibu Muraski. Americans are excluded since they are covered in a separate set. The result is an eclectic and highly selective mix. The brief "Publisher's Note" sheds little light on why authors were chosen (which seems to be typical of Magill sets). There are entries for Oliver Goldsmith but not Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the Brothers Grimm but not Hans Christian Andersen, Katherine Mansfield but not Patrick White, Victor Hugo but not Alexandre Dumas. Each entry begins with brief top matter giving place and date of birth and death (if relevant) and principal literary achievement. The articles consist of one to two pages of biography, followed by one to two pages of analysis. After the analysis is discussion of individual works; the average number of works included for each author is three. The section on each work covers a page or two and is introduced by capsule information giving the date of first publication, type of work, and brief summary. Following is a summary of the writer's principal themes and achievements and a selected bibliography of secondary sources. There are no bibliographies of writers' works. As in other Magill productions, the essays are written in a style accessible to high school and college students. Each author is represented by a full-page portrait or photograph. At the end of each volume is a list of all the authors included in the set and the same glossary. The last volume concludes with author and title indexes. Each author entry includes a listing of the individual works discussed. There is a great deal of duplication between this set and other reference tools published by Salem Press. Yukio Mishima, for instance, is also included in Critical Survey of Long Fiction: Foreign Language Series and Critical Survey of Short Fiction. There is overlap with the individual Mishima titles discussed in Masterplots Revised Edition and Masterplots II World Fiction Series. All of the entries have been rewritten, however, instead of simply being reprinted from other sets. Magill's Survey of World Literature brings together in a single convenient set the biographical and analytical elements found in the Critical Surveys and the individual title treatment that characterizes Masterplots. Like those other series, it presents information in an accessible way. It should help introduce students to a few of the major writers from other cultures. For these reasons, it is a good choice for small public and high school libraries. Because it is so selective, and because it duplicates coverage in other sources, libraries that already own a good selection of Salem Press/Magill sets can skip this one. (Reviewed Dec. 15, 1992)