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Fletcher, John

(Encyclopedia)Fletcher, John, 1579–1625, English dramatist, b. Rye, Sussex, educated at Cambridge. A member of a prominent literary family, he began writing for the stage about 1606, first with Francis Beaumont, ...

Rohmer, Eric

(Encyclopedia)Rohmer, Eric, 1920–2010, French film director and writer, b. Jean-Marie Maurice Schérer. He was a founder (1950) of La Gazette du cinéma, cowrote (1957) a study of Alfred Hitchcock, and edited (19...

Bellamy, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Bellamy, Edward bĕlˈəmē [key], 1850–98, American author, b. Chicopee Falls (now part of Chicopee), Mass. After being admitted to the bar he tried his hand at journalism and contributed short sto...

Mason, Bobbie Ann

(Encyclopedia)Mason, Bobbie Ann, 1940–, American regional author, b. Mayfield, Ky., grad. Univ. of Kentucky (B.A., 1962), State Univ. of New York, Binghamton (M.A., 1966), Univ. of Connecticut (Ph.D., 1972). Her ...

Three Kingdoms

(Encyclopedia)Three Kingdoms, period of Chinese history from 220 to 265, after the collapse of the Han dynasty. The period takes its name from the three states into which China was divided. Wei occupied the north. ...

Petronius

(Encyclopedia)Petronius pĭtrōˈnēəs [key], d. c.a.d. 66, Roman satirist, known as Petronius Arbiter because of his now generally accepted identity with Gaius Petronius, to whom Tacitus refers as arbiter elegant...

Reyes, Alfonso

(Encyclopedia)Reyes, Alfonso älfônˈsō rāˈyĕs [key], 1889–1959, Mexican writer, diplomat, and educator. Reyes is generally recognized as one of the greatest Spanish-American writers of his time. After spend...

Powys, John Cowper

(Encyclopedia)Powys, John Cowper pōˈĭs [key], 1872–1963, British author and lecturer. In addition to his widely admired novels Wolf Solent (1929), and A Glastonbury Romance (1932), Powys also wrote poetry and ...

pastoral

(Encyclopedia)pastoral, literary work in which the shepherd's life is presented in a conventionalized manner. In this convention the purity and simplicity of shepherd life is contrasted with the corruption and arti...

Froissart, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Froissart, Jean zhäN frəwäsärˈ [key], c.1337–1410?, French chronicler, poet, and courtier, b. Valenciennes. Although ordained as a priest, he led a worldly life. He became a protégé of Queen ...