The following online reference works are excellent sources for learning more about the historical, cultural, and literary context of individual authors and their works.
To determine which of the reference works listed above contain articles on a particular author or literary work, look in the Gale Literary Index. In the Search box, type the author's name, surname first (for example -- Stoker, Bram). General articles about the author are listed first. Then, listed in alphabetical order by title in the "Works by this Author" section, are articles that discuss specific literary works.