Genre of novel or short story in which a mystery is solved mainly by the action of a professional or amateur detective. Where the mystery to be solved concerns a crime, the work may be called crime fiction.
Or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture of intelligence, ingenuity, the logical interpretation of evidence, and sometimes sheer luck.
Imaginative literary form, particularly suitable for describing emotions and thoughts. Poetry is highly ‘compressed’ writing, often using figures of speech to talk about one thing in terms of another, such as metaphor and simile, that allows the reader to ‘unpack’ the poem's meaning for itself.
In literature, tales of love and chivalric adventure, in verse or prose, that became popular in France about 1200 and spread throughout Europe. It had antecedents in many works from classical antiquity, but developed as a distinctive genre in the context of the aristocratic court.
Genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Science fiction is the literature of the scientific age. Born in adventure pulp magazines during the first half of the twentieth century, the science fiction genre began to mature in the 1940s and 1950s.
Short work of prose fiction, usually consisting of between 500 and 10,000 words, which typically either sets up and resolves a single narrative point or depicts a mood or an atmosphere. The form has a long history and examples of its popularity and success include Aesop's Fables and the tales of The Thousand and One Nights.
Family of English novelists, including Charlotte Brontë, 1816–55, English novelist, Emily Jane Brontë, 1818–48, English novelist and poet, and Anne Brontë, 1820–49, English novelist.
Anne Brontë was the youngest of the famous trio of literary sisters. Anne's literary endeavours, like those of Emily Brontë, went unacknowledged in her brief lifetime.
English writer; an Oxford mathematics don who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872) and the nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876).
From Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
Say “Wilkie Collins” to a late Victorian reader of fiction and he or she (Collins appealed to both) would have fired back two words: “sensation” and “bohemian.”
English author, born in Portsmouth, one of the world's most popular, prolific, and skilled novelists. His most famous works include A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Hard Times.
British Conservative (Tory) politician and novelist; prime minister (1868; 1874-80). He gave coherence to the Tory principles of protectionism and imperialism. Authored the novel trilogy Coningsby, Sybil, and Tancred (1847).
English novelist and poet, born near Dorchester, one of the great English writers of the 19th century. The son of a stonemason, he derived a love of music from his father and a devotion to literature from his mother.
English writer. He was one of the first clerics to support Charles Darwin, whose ideas he partly incorporated into The Water Babies (1863). His popular historical novels include Hereward the Wake (1866).
English novelist and poet. His works, notable for their social satire and analysis of character, include the novels Beauchamp's Career (1876) and The Egoist (1879) and the long tragic poem Modern Love (1862).
British writer of essays, poetry, and novels, including Treasure Island (1883), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and Kidnapped (1886).
British historian and essayist whose works, such as The French Revolution (1837), are characterized by his trenchant social and political criticism and his complex literary style.
British naturalist who revolutionized the study of biology with his theory of evolution based on natural selection. His most famous works include Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871). One of the greatest naturalists who ever lived. He was not only the father of evolution but also a remarkable scientist whose ideas and discoveries about the earth's history resulted in new areas for ongoing research in geology, paleontology, biology, and anthropology.
British philosopher and economist; born in London on 20 May 1806 and died on 7 May 1873 in Avignon, in a house next to the cemetery where his wife was buried. Known especially for his interpretations of empiricism and utilitarianism. His many works include A System of Logic (1843), Principles of Political Economy (1848), and The Subjection of Women (1869).
English naturalist and writer. His books on the countryside include Gamekeeper at Home (1878), The Life of the Fields (1884), and his best-known collection of essays, The Open Air (1885).
Poet, designer of textiles and wallpaper, successful businessman, father (often so-called) of the Arts and Crafts movement. Founded Kelmscott Press (1890).
English art critic and social reformer. He was a champion of the Gothic Revival and the Pre-Raphaelites and saw a close connection between art and morality.
Widely regarded as England's greatest woman poet. Although her poetry has now fallen into disfavour, it shows individuality of style and rich imagination. An experimental writer, she wrote ballads, political odes, allegories, sonnets, poetic dramas and an epic.
British poet best known for dramatic monologues such as “My Last Duchess,” “Fra Lippo Lippi,” and “The Bishop Orders His Tomb.” His remarkably broad and sound education was primarily the work of his artistic and scholarly parents—in particular his father, a London bank clerk of independent means.
British playwright and lyricist known for a series of comic operas, including H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) and The Pirates of Penzance (1879), written with composer Sir Arthur Sullivan.
English poet. He was poet laureate 1850-92. His verse has a majestic, musical quality, and few poets have surpassed his precision and delicacy of language. His poems include The Lady of Shalott (1832), Morte d'Arthur (1842), the collection In Memoriam (1850), Maud (1855), and Idylls of the King (1859).