A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

"A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature" by John W. Cousin is a reference work published in the early 20th century. The book aims to provide concise biographical entries and insights into notable English authors, including those from America and the colonies, highlighting their contributions to literature and the contexts in which they lived and worked. The opening of the work includes an introduction that outlines the book's goals, indicating that it contains over 1,600 entries and acknowledges the impossibility of capturing every significant figure in English literature given the vast number of writers. Cousin emphasizes the need for careful selection and the inclusion of interesting details that reflect the lives and literary significance of these authors. The introduction also offers a brief overview of the challenges related to defining the boundaries of "literature" in this context, suggesting a wide-ranging approach to the subjects covered. Overall, it sets the stage for a comprehensive yet accessible exploration of literary figures up to the time of its writing. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

John William Cousin (1849–1910) was a British writer, editor and biographer. He was one of six children born to William and Anne Ross Cousin, his mother being a noted hymn-writer, in Scotland. A fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries and secretary of the Actuarial Society of Edinburgh, he revised and wrote the introduction for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline in 1907.