Rossignol's Critical Companion to Chaucer is a revised and expanded edition of her Chaucer A to Z (1999), but its contents have been reconfigured to conform to other volumes in the Critical Companion series. Rather than the previous straightforward alphabetical arrangement, the work is now divided into four sections. Part 1 consists of a nine-page biography of Chaucer, while part 2 provides individual entries on Chaucer's works. In most cases, the entry on each work includes a synopsis, critical commentary, subentries for characters within the work, and a narrative bibliography of sources for further reading.
Arthur Miller, best known for his works "The Crucible and Death of a Salesman", is one of America's most important dramatists. "Critical Companion to Arthur Miller" provides a reliable, up-to-date, and encyclopedic source of information on Miller for high school and college-level students, teachers, and the general public. This accessible volume covers his entire canon, including plays, screenplays, fiction, short stories, and poetry, as well as many of his important essays and critical pieces.
This comprehensive companion to Faulkner contains a variety of information for the student as well as being a handy reference to Faulkner's life and works for those curious about him. Fargnoli (theology and English, Molloy College, NY) Golay (history, Phillips Exeter Academy) and Hamblin (English, Center for Faulkner Studies, Southeast Missouri State University) begin with a short biography of Faulkner and his family. They note how his childhood and family history influenced his stories, as well as his emotional make up and alcoholic tendencies.
Another entry in the publisher's redesign of its old Literary A to Z series, this one an update of the volume on Dickens published in 1998. Following a seven-page biography, separate sections deal with "Works A–Z" and "Related People, Places, and Topics." Appendixes provide a chronology and bibliographies of primary and secondary sources. As with other volumes in the revamped series, one of the most useful features is the detailed coverage of major works, with synopsis, commentary, and character entries.
Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, is perhaps the most important living American author today, and certainly one of the most popular in college and high school courses. Her novels, including "Sula", "Song of Solomon", "Beloved", and "Paradise", have won almost every major award available to them. In addition, her influence as a critic, book editor, and mentor to other writers has been incalculable. "Critical Companion to Toni Morrison" examines Morrison's life and writing, featuring critical analyses of her work and themes, as well as entries on related topics and relevant people, places, and influences.