The Literary Encyclopedia is an expanding global literary reference work written by over 1800 specialists from universities around the world, and currently provides more than 4800 authoritative profiles of authors, works and literary and historical topics and grows by over 60 articles per month. We also list more than 21,000 works by date, country and genre. The Literary Encyclopedia offers good coverage of canonical literature originally written in English, French, German and Russian, and is extending its coverage of Spanish, Latin and Greek. It is built on historical principles so that all our data can be arrayed by date, country and genre and readers can explore writing in its historical context. We are now beginning to add annotated lists of recommended reading which will be of particular value to those studying literature. The publication is very much a living relationship between current scholars and readers and not a repository of information formerly published in printed works.

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... the louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Conduct of Life, "Worship" (1870)