HELPS FOR INFORMED READING

General

Novels

Plays

Index
WORDS AND LANGUAGE HISTORY
Historical Dictionaries
Dictionaries of Modern Usage
Period Dictionaries
Other
Histories of the Language
ALLUSIONS
Classical
Mythological
Other
LITERARY TERMINOLOGY
PROSODY

Indices
Concordances - Bible
Concordances - Major Authors
CHARACTERS AND MOTIFS
Characters
Motifs
FACTS
Atlases
General Handbooks
Dates
Gazatteers
MANUSCRIPTS
Library Guides
General
Old and Middle English
Renaissance
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

PLOT SUMMARIES
General | Novels | Plays | Index

Magill, Frank, ed. MASTERPLOTS. 1976.
Magill, Frank, ed. SURVEY OF SCIENCE FICTION LITERATURE. 1979.

Goodman, Roland, ed. PLOT OUTLINES OF 100 FAMOUS NOVELS. 1942.

Lass, Abraham H. ed. PLOT GUIDE TO 100 AMERICAN AND BRITISH NOVELS. 1971.

Cartmell, Van, ed. PLOT OUTLINES OF 100 FAMOUS PLAYS. (pre 1945 plays)

Lovell, John. DIGESTS OF GREAT AMERICAN PLAYS. 1961 (pre 1960 plays)

Shipley, Joseph. GUIDE TO GREAT PLAYS. 1956. (includes some production background)

Koehmstedt, Carol. PLOT SUMMARY INDEX. 1973.

WORDS AND LANGUAGE HISTORY
Historical Dictionaries | Dictionaries of Modern Usage

Period Dictionaries | Other | Histories of the Language

Historical Dictionaries

Murray, James. ed., et al. THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY. . . A NEW ENGLISH DICTIONARY ON HISTORICAL PRINCIPLES. 13 vols. 1933. +3 vol. supplement.
Skeat, W.W. AN ENTOMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. New ed. 1910.

Dictionaries of Modern Usage

Farmer. SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES.

Fowler. DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH USAGE.

Morris. HARPER DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY USAGE.

Partridge. A DICTIONARY OF SLANG AND UNCONVENTIONAL ENGLISH. 2 vols. 7th ed., 1970.

WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Period Dictionaries

Hall, John Richard C. A CONCISE ANGLO-SAXON DICTIONARY. 4th ed., 1960.

Clark, John W. EARLY ENGLISH: A STUDY OF OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH. 1957.

Kurath, Hans, and S. M. Kuhn. MIDDLE ENGLISH DICTIONARY. 1952.

Koekeritz, Helge. GUIDE TO CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 1954.

Mayhew, Anthony, and W.W. Skeat. A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF MIDDLE ENGLISH. 1888.

Onions, C.T. A SHAKESPEARE GLOSSARY. 2nd ed. rev., 1919.

Gale. ACRONOYMS AND INITIALISMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS DICTIONARY.
THE NEW ROGET'S THESAURUS.
Thomas. UNIVERSAL PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHY AND MYTHOLOGY. 1915.

Histories of the Language

Baugh, Albert C. A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. 2nd ed., 1957.

ALLUSIONS
Classical | Mythological | Other

Avery, Catherine B. ed. NEW CENTURY CLASSICAL HANDBOOK. 1962.
Harvey, (Sir) Paul. THE OXFORD COMPANION TO CLASSICAL LITERATURE. 1966.

Mythological

Frazer, James G. THE GOLDEN BOUGH.
Graves, Robert. THE GREEK MYTHS. rev. ed., 2 vols, 1962.
Hamilton, Edith. MYTHOLOGY.
Leach, Maria and Jerone Fried, eds. FUNK AND WAGNALLS STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FOLKLORE, MYTHOLOGY & LEGEND. 2 vols, 1949-50.

Apel. HARVARD DICTIONARY OF MUSIC.

DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN HISTORY.

Grove, Sir George. NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. 1980.

Henderson. DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS.

Monro. INDEX TO REPRODUCTIONS OF AMERICAN PAINTINGS.

Monro. INDEX TO REPRODUCTIONS OF EUROPEAN PAINTINGS.

Myers, Bernard, ed. MCGRAW-HILL DICTIONARY OF ART. 5 vols. 1969.

Thompson. INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Weideman, Hugh. THE RAPID FACT FINDER.

LITERARY TERMINOLOGY

Abrams, M. H. A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS.
Fowler, Roger. A Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms. 1973.
Lanham, Richard. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms: A Guide for Students of English Literature. 1968.

Abrams, M. H. A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS.
Shapiro and Beum. A PROSODY HANDBOOK.

QUOTATIONS
Indices | Concordances - Bible | Concordances - Major Authors | Index

Bartlett, John. FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS... 16th ed.
DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY QUOTATIONS.
Granger. INDEX TO POETRY.
Steveson, Burton. THE FOLGER BOOK OF SHAKESPEARE QUOTATIONS. 1953.
Toynbee, Paget Jackson. A DICTIONARY OF PROPER NAMES AND NOTABLE MATTERS IN THE WORKS OF DANTE. Revised by Singleton, 1968.

Concordances - Bible

Cruden, Alexander. COMPLETE CONCORDANCE TO THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT... WITH ... A CONCORDANCE TO THE APOCRYPHA. 1930.
Ellison, John. NELSON'S COMPLETE CONCORDANCE OF THE REVISED STANDARD VERSION OF THE BIBLE. 1957.
Strong, James. EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE TO THE BIBLE. 1890. (KJV)

Concordances - Major Authors

Abbott, Edwin. CONCORDANCE TO THE WORKS OF ALEXANDER POPE. 1875.
Bradshaw, John. A CONCORDANCE TO THE POETICAL WORKS OF JOHN MILTON. 1894.
Cooper, Lane A. CONCORDANCE TO THE POEMS OF WILLIAMS WORDSWORTH.
Osgood, Charles G. CONCORDANCE TO THE POEMS OF EDMUND SPENSER. 1915
Spivak, Marvin. A COMPLETE AND SYSTEMATIC CONCORDANCE TO THE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE. 3 vols., 1968.
Stevenson, Burton E. THE STANDARD BOOK OF SHAKESPEARE QUOTATIONS. 1953.
Tatlock, John S.P., and Arthur G. Kennedy. CONCORDANCE TO THE COMPLETE WORKS OF GEOFFREY CHAUCER AND TO THE ROMAUNT OF THE ROSE. 1927.

CHARACTERS AND MOTIFS
Characters | Motifs

Halliwell, DICTIONARY OF OLD ENGLISH PLAYS.
Magil, Frank. CYCLOPEDIA OF LITERARY CHARACTERS. 1963.
Stokes, Frances G. A DICTIONARY OF THE CHARACTERS AND PROPER NAMES IN THE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE. 1960.

Bordman, Gerald M. MOTIF-INDEX OF THE ENGLISH METRICAL ROMANCES. 1963.

Ireland, Norma. INDEX TO FAIRY TALES, 1949-72, INCLUDING FOLKLORE, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS. Collections. 1973. (Preceded by Mary Eastman, Index to Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends. 1926.)

Thompson, Stith. MOTIF-INDEX OF FOLK-LITERATURE, A CLASSIFICATION OF NARRATIVE ELEMENTS IN FOLK-TAKES, BALLADS, MYTHS, FABLES... 6 vols. Revised, 195-58.

Apel. HARVARD DICTIONARY OF MUSIC.

DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN HISTORY.

Grove, Sir George. NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. 1980.

Henderson. DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC TERMS.

Monro. INDEX TO REPRODUCTIONS OF AMERICAN PAINTINGS.

Monro. INDEX TO REPRODUCTIONS OF EUROPEAN PAINTINGS.

Myers, Bernard, ed. MCGRAW-HILL DICTIONARY OF ART. 5 vols. 1969.

Thompson. INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.

Weideman, Hugh. THE RAPID FACT FINDER.

FACTS
Atlases | General Handbooks | Dates | Gazatteers

HARPER ATLAS OF THE BIBLE.
RAND MCNALLY COMMERICAL ATLAS. (atlas stand)
WEBSTER'S NEW GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.

General Handbooks

Allibone, S. Austin. A CRITICAL DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE AND BRITISH AND AMERICAN AUTHORS. 3 vols. 1858-71. Supplement. 2 vols., 1891.
Barnhart, Clarence, and William Halsey. THE NEW CENTURY HANDBOOK OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. Rev. ed., 1967. (includes pronunciation of names)
Benet, William R. THE READER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 2nd ed., 1965.
Drabble, Margaret, ed. THE OXFORD COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE. 4th ed., 1967.
Hart, James David, ed. THE OXFORD COMPANION TO AMERICAN LITEATURE. 4th ed., 1965.
Harvey, (Sir) Paul. THE OXFORD COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE. 4th ed. Rv. by Eagle, 1967.
Holman and Harmon. A HANDBOOK TO LITERATURE. 5th ed., 1986.
Shipley, Joseph T. DICTIONARY OF WORLD LITERATURE: CIRITICISM, FORMS, TECHNIQUE. New rev. ed., 1953.
Thrall, W.F. and A. Hibbard. A HANDBOOK TO LITERATURE. Rev. ed., 1960.

Butler, Audrey. EVERYMAN'S DICTIONARY OF DATES. 6th ed. 1971.

Cheney, Christopher. HANDBOOK OF DATES FOR STUDENTS OF ENLIGHS HISTORY. 1945.

Vincent, Benjamin. HAYDN'S DICTIONARY OF DATES AND UNIVERSAL INFORMATION RELATING TO ALL AGES AND NATIONS. 25th ed., 1911.

Eagle, Dorothy. THE OXFORD LITERARY GUIDE TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 1977.

Magoun, Francis. A CHAUCER GAZETTEER. 1961.

MANUSCRIPTS
Library Guides | General | Old and Middle English | Renaissance

Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries | Nineteenth Century

Library Guides

Ash, Lee and Dennis Lorenz. SUBJECT COLLECTIONS: A GUIDE TO SPECIAL BOOK COLLECTIONS AND SUBJECT EMPHASES AS REPORTED BY UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE, PUBLIC AND SPEICAL LIBERARIES INT HE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 3rd. ed., 1967.
Downs, Robert B. AMERICAN LIBRARY RESOUCES: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE. 2 vols. 1951, 1962, 1972.
Gates, Jean. GUIDE TO THE USE OF BOOKS AND LIBRARIES. 3rd. ed., 1974.

Douglas, David. ENGLISH HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS.

GUIDE TO THE CONTENTS OF THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. 3 vols. 1963-68.

Old and Middle English

Brown, Carleton, and R.H. Robbins. AN INDEX OF MIDDLE ENGLISH VERSE. Supplement. 1943.

Ker, Neil R. MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS IN BRITISH LIBRARIES. 3 vols. 1969.

Krapp, George, and E.V.K. Dobbie. THE ANGLO-SAXON POETIC RECORDS. 6 vols. 1931-53.

Ricci, Seymour de, and W.J. Wilson. CENSUS OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 2 vols. 1961.

Wells, John E. A MANUAL OF THE WRITINGS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH 1050- 1400. 1916. Revised by Severs, 1967.

Renaissance

Arber, Edward. A TRANSCRIPT OF THE REGISTER OF THE COMPANY OF STATIONERS OF LONDON, 1554-1640 A.D. 6 vols. 1875-1894.

Greg, W.W. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE ENGLISH PRINTED DRAMA TO THE RESTORATION. 1939-59.

Harbage, Alfred. ANNALS OF ENGLISH DRAMA, 975-1700; AN ANALYTICAL RECORD OF ALL PLAYS, EXTANT OR LOST, CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. Rev. by Schoenbaum, 1964.

McKerrow, Ronald. DICTIONARY OF RPINTERS AND BOOKSELLERS IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND...1557-1640. 1910.

Palmer, Henrietta. LIST OF ENGLISH EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS OF GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS PRINTED BEFORE 1641. 1911.

Pollard, Alfred, and G.R. Redgrave. A SHORT-TITLE CATALOGUE OF BOOKS PRINTED IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND AND OF ENGLISH BOOKS PRINTED ABROAD, 1475-1640. (STC) 1926. Indexed by Paul Morrison, 1950.

Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Arber, Edward. TERM CATALOGUES, 1668-1709. 3 vols. 1903-1906.

Eyre, George. TRANSCRIPT OF THE REGISTER OF THE WORHSHIPFUL COMPANY OF STATIONERS; FROM 1640 TO 1708 A.D. 3 vols. 1913- 14.

Plomer, Henry. DICTIONARY OF PRINTERS AND BOOKSELLERS...IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND FROM 1641-1667. 1907. (from 1168-1725; from 1726-1775)

Wing, Donald G. SHORT-TITLE CATALOGUE OF BOOKS PRINTED IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, WALES, AND BRITISH AMERICAN, AND OF ENGLISH BOOKS PRINTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES, 1641-1700. 3 vols. 1945-51.

Woodward, Gertrude, and James McManaway. A CHECKLIST OF ENGLISH PLAYS 1641-1700. Supplement. 1945.

Nineteenth Century

Houghton, Walter. THE WELLESLEY INDEX TO VICTORIAN PERIODICALS, 1824-1900. 4 vols. 1966-.

NINETEENTH CENTURY READERS' GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE, 1890-99. 2 vols. 1944-.