The new encyclopedia is a joint publication of Bulgarian Encyclopaedia Scientific Information Centre at the BAS and Trud Publishing House. So far, there is no book with similar content in Bulgaria. For the first time, the subject of research are the characters, not the works and the entire literary canon of writers.
The compilers’ ambition is to cover the essentials in the vast world of world literature. The reader can find in one reference Anna Karenina, Albena, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Julien Sorel, Indzhe, Rastignac, Robin Hood, Stephen Dedalus, Bilbo, Frodo, Winnie the Pooh, Faust, Harry Potter, Romeo and Juliet, Roland, Ivan Denisovich, Raskolnikov, Salammbô, Boycho Ognyanov, Irina and Boris, Emma Bovary and many others – over 460 literary characters from world literature (Bulgarian, Ancient and Western European, Russian and other Slavic literatures, American, Latin American and Eastern literatures).
Readers can find out from which book and writer the fictional characters are, what their main characteristic is and to get acquainted with their storyline. The symbolic meanings of the characters are also explained, exceeding their explicit characteristics. At the end of the articles, a brief information about the most popular theatrical productions or film adaptations is given.
The edition is supplemented with a directory of writers containing short biographical articles about the authors of all mentioned literary works. Furthermore, an alphabetical index is available for the readers’ convenience.
The encyclopedia is intended for a wide range of readers – schoolchildren, students, teachers of literature, theatre scholars, as well as for all fiction admirers. Along with other prestigious editions of Bulgarian Encyclopaedia Scientific Information Centre at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the new encyclopedia Characters of World Literature is arousing a well-deserved interest.
