A major contemporary writer, Anne Tyler has published 13 novels and almost 50 short stories. Her earliest fiction was published in the Duke University literary magazine during her undergraduate years. In 1964, she published her first novel, If Morning Ever Comes. She attained fame with The Accidental Tourist (1985), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was made into a movie. Her next novel, Breathing Lessons (1988), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and she has acquired a loyal following of readers. She has also written numerous reviews, and her short fiction has appeared in an assortment of magazines over the last 30 years. Tyler's broad popularity has been matched by a rise in scholarly interest in her works, and each year sees an increasing number of books and articles published about her writings.

Many of her readers are interested in knowing more about her life, artistic development, and earlier works. And because much of her short fiction is inaccessible, even scholars have difficulty forming a comprehensive view of her literary career. This reference book is a comprehensive and detailed guide to Anne Tyler's fictional worlds. The volume begins with an introductory essay that overviews her life as a writer. The book then provides alphabetically arranged entries for her novels, short stories, and characters. Entries for novels are primarily critical. But because her short fiction is less available, entries for those works also provide extensive plot summaries. There are also numerous entries for the various themes and motifs that flavor her work, such as Aging, Diaries, Games, Holidays, and Radios. Many entries cite reviews and criticisms, and the volume closes with an extensive bibliography and appendices.