What is the definition of “popular fiction”: sales figures over critical acclaim, contemporary appeal rather than high art – or simply the success of the right book at the right time? Editors Geoff Hamilton and Brian Jones would prefer to describe cult bestsellers like Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold as “first‐rate storytelling”, rather than “second‐rate fiction”. Chick lit and “summer reading” titles might not be considered classical fiction, but there is always a demand for the latest trend on the shelves, from Harry Potter to John Grisham. Film adaptations of novels also help to sell more books, boosting interest and attracting new readers.
The entries in this Encyclopedia are taken from 30 years of bestseller lists in the New York Times and Publishers Weekly, and cover all genres – apart from “literary” classics! War and Peace is out, but Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan is in. Perennial favourites Jane Austen and Charles Dickens have made way for Julia Quinn and John Irving. The majority of titles and authors listed are, unsurprisingly, North American, but many European and Australian contributions also feature. However, contemporary fiction as defined here seems to consist mainly of crime/suspense novels by authors such as John le Carré, Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson, romance and “Young Adult” titles (J.K. Rowling, Ann Brashares). Whether a comment on recent reading trends or modern writing, the range of content is limited in this respect.
Information supplied on books and their writers includes plot summaries and quotes, biographies, contributor's review, details of any film adaptations made, and further reading. The entry for Elizabeth Kostova's 2005 debut novel The Historian describes her “extraordinary fidelity to descriptive detail”, and attributes the incredible demand for her first book to the “current popularity of such historical thrillers”. There is also a list of books by major writers in an appendix, condensing the coverage of the Encyclopedia into a helpful at‐a‐glance guide to popular fiction.
Intended as a defence of those books “neglected” by literary critics, Hamilton and Jones have assembled an informative and contemporary measure of popular fiction. School and college libraries will find this a useful reference source for young readers, but trendy booklovers may quickly consider the entries “out of date”. Prolific authors such as Stephen King and established names like Isaac Asimov will probably still be making the Top 10 in years to come, but what of the one‐hit wonders in this list? Extending the date range and criteria of the entries would have given the Encyclopedia of American Popular Fiction a longer shelf life.
