Covering 678 novelists, representing 60-plus countries and works from the 19th century to the 21st, this reference consists of ten volumes and, in addition, access to Salem Literature, which is Salem Press's new literature database; the purchase of one ink & paper set entitles the school or library to free online access (to that set) until the end of 2011. Arranged alphabetically, the author essays (generally about four to eight pages in length) include coverage of biography and achievements as well as literary and contextual analysis of major works. Sixty-one thematic essays (up to 10,000 words) offer genre overviews and consider various aspects of long fiction in history (origins and development of the novel), and in various regions of the world outside of North America and within North America (by ethnicity). There are plentiful auxiliary resources including a time line, a glossary, a chronological list of authors, and a guide to online resources. Indexing is by geography, category, and subject. This third revised edition has as its antecedents separate English-and foreign-language works published in 1983 and 1984, and combined revised editions in 1991 and 2000; all essays were evaluated for currency and 130 were replaced or substantially revised while about 100 new entries were added. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)