Since Sir Paul Harvey's original "Oxford Companion to English Literature" was published in 1932, it has been a source of reference for general readers, as well as a valuable guide for students and specialists, on all aspects of English literature and English literary culture. In 1985 the text was completely revised while retaining the essential characteristics of Sir Paul Harvey's volume. Since then, the Companion has continued to respond to the needs of contemporary readers, with a revision, published in 1995, containing 60 new entries on emerging contemporary voices. This new revision continues in this tradition, adding 16 survey articles on important literary concepts. The volume offers extensive coverage of the classical roots of English literature, and of European authors and works that have influenced the development of English literature. Its wide range of articles covers not only authors and their works, but allusion and references, fictional characters, plot summaries, composers and artists, literary and artistic movements, historians, philosophers, scholars, and editors, publishing history, literary societies, newspapers and periodicals, and critical terms and theory.