Biography reference book

The reference sources listed here provide quick information on primarily English and American literature. These can be very broad or very specific in nature:  for example, an encyclopedia on American literature or an encyclopedia on Mark Twain.  The following list is only a sampling of the many resources available, whether in print or online.

American National Biography (Oxford)
Authoritative biographies of deceased Americans. 

Biographical Dictionary of Transcendentalism

Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature

Cambridge Companions
Search for companions to authors, works, theories, etc.

(examples:  Allegory, American Gay and Lesbian Fiction, Anthony Trollope)

Chambers Dictionary of Literary Characters

Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature

Contemporary Authors (incorporated into Gale Literary Sources)
Biographical sketches of 20th-century authors who have written in English or have had their works translated into English. 

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