History SmallReferencePools / Literature

* Creator/PGWodehouse, despite writing light-hearted, comedic novels, averts this. Apart from the many quotes from Shakespeare and the Bible, there are also references to, for example Creator/AlfredLordTennyson, Omar Khayyám, Creator/HenryWadsworthLongfellow, Creator/WalterScott, Laurence Hope, Creator/WilliamButlerYeats or Thomas Moore - in just one novel (''Summer Moonshine''). Jeeves's favorite philosopher is Spinoza, and he quotes, among others, Marcus Aurelius.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is the sole representative of the UrbanFantasy genre.

* The only non-Western fairy tales most people have ever heard of are from ''Literature/The1001Nights'' (often mistitled ''The Arabian Nights''): "[[Literature/{{Aladdin}} Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp]]", "Literature/AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves", and "Literature/SinbadTheSailor", African, Native American, Polynesian, Chinese, Japanese, and (to a lesser extent) Russian folktales tend to be known only to scholars (or to people familiar with folklorist Joseph Campbell). Disney tried to remedy this in the late '90s by for the first time choosing subject matter from a non-European or non-Semitic civilization: ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}''. (''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', while ostensibly African, was just a variation of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''.)

!! Exceptions to this trope from This Trope in Literature:

-->'''Colonel Kassad''': I wasn't in favor of doing it at all, but if it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly.
-->'''Martin Silenus, the Poet:''' Hey! The Man knows his [[EarthThatWas pre-Hegira]] playwrights.
-->'''Father Hoyt:''' [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]]?
-->'''Martin Silenus:''' No, [[SophisticatedAsHell Lerner and fucking Lowe. Neil buggering Simon. Hamel fucking Posten]].

* Creator/CharlesDickens might get mentioned a lot, especially ''Literature/OliverTwist'', ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'', ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'', ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' or ''Literature/GreatExpectations''. You know, all those poor-poor orphans and working children. Bonus points go to everybody who knows the character's names and plot lines (well, aside from ''A Christmas Carol'''s, or any lines besides "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" and "Please sir, I want some more".

* In one of the more JustForFun/{{egregious}} mistakes in ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'' (which is said to have an errata list longer than the actual book, but that's for [[DanBrowned another article]]), Dan Brown has a so-called "British" journalist (in a fantasy about achieving success in the near future) liken himself to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Rather Dan Rather]] -- despite Rather being unknown in Britain. A ''real'' British journalist, indulging in such a fantasy, would liken himself to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Paxman Jeremy Paxman]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_McDonald Sir Trevor McDonald]] -- who, unsurprisingly, are just as unknown in the USA.

* The only [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] stories you're likely to see referenced are Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; the Great Flood; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the Exodus; Samson and Delilah; David and Goliath; Daniel in the Lion's Den; and the story of Jesus.

** If a Catholic or a very devout Protestant is preparing his soul for death, expect him to be muttering Psalm 23:4 (or Psalm 22:4, based on the Vulgate).
* When it comes to children's books and their authors, the one most likely to be mentioned is [[Creator/DrSeuss Dr. Seuss]].

* ''Literature/InCryptid'' features several lesser-known cryptids/mythical creatures, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C5%ABri Fūri]], [[https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Waheela Waheela]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laidly_Worm_of_Spindleston_Heugh Laidly Worms]], [[https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Ahool Ahool]], and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caladrius Caladrius]], alongside ones the author appears to have invented herself, such as the [[BackstoryInvader Johrlac]][[note]]An argument ''could'' be made that they're a variation of the ChangelingTale, but they're never called that in-universe. They're explicitly a reference to ''Literature/TheMidwichCuckoos'', itself not a well-known book.[[/note]], [[http://seananmcguire.com/fgmadhura.php Madhura]], and the [[http://seananmcguire.com/fgfricken.php Fricken]].

* Creator/PGWodehouse, despite writing light-hearted, comedic novels, averts this. Apart from the many quotes from Shakespeare and the Bible, there are also references to, for example Tennyson, Omar Khayyám, Longfellow, Creator/WalterScott, Laurence Hope, Creator/WilliamButlerYeats or Thomas Moore - in just one novel (''Summer Moonshine''). Jeeves's favorite philosopher is Spinoza, and he quotes, among others, Marcus Aurelius.

** Creator/AlexandreDumas (whose last name might be pronounced "dumbass" for a cheap laugh, even though [[ItsPronouncedTropay it's "deuh-MAH"]])

* The Brontë Sisters: If your character is a girl or a woman and a BookWorm, and if she's somewhat DarkerAndEdgier that a Jane Austen reader, she will read ''Literature/JaneEyre'' or ''Literature/WutheringHeights''. You might have heard that those crazy but talented sisters wrote other books as well (though admittedly, ''Wuthering Heights'' author Emily [[OneBookAuthor didn't]] on account of [[AuthorExistenceFailure her tragically early death]]), but they are not as noteworthy as these two Gothic novels.

* If there's a mention of any character from Arthurian legend, it's almost always going to be Arthur or Merlin, or to a lesser extent Lancelot, Guinevere or Galahad. And where did the Arthurian legend come from? It's always England--never Wales or France, where much of the story is derived from. Arthur is usually portrayed as English even though he was a Briton which, at the time, meant what we now call Welsh. At the time of the Arthurian legends, the English were a bunch of hired mercenaries brought-over from Germany who were starting to cause trouble. Here as elsewhere, there is no difference between the ''creation'' of a legend and the ''content'' of the legend.

** If a Catholic or a very devout Protestant is preparing his soul for death, expect him to be muttering Psalm 23:4.

* Creator/HPLovecraft: ''Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu'' is by far the most represented of his works to the point that many asumes that his stories are all about people going mad after seeing an Elder God or that Cthulhu is a recurring character.

* ''Literature/ThePrince'' is the only political treatise ever written (at least prior to Karl Marx), and it is always read "straight" (not as satire).

* ''Jugemu'' is one of the most popular folktales in Japanese culture, being a simple story with the central joke being the title character [[OverlyLongName having waaaay too long of a name]].[[labelnote:Full Name]]Jugemu Jugemu Gokō-no Surikire Kaijarisuigyo-no Suigyōmatsu Unraimatsu Fūraimatsu Kuunerutokoro-ni Sumutokoro Yaburakōji-no Burakōji Paipopaipo Paipo-no Shūringan Shūringan-no Gūrindai Gūrindai-no Ponpokopī-no Ponpokonā-no Chōkyūmei-no Chōsuke[[/labelnote]] It is also a famous story for Rakugo performances, to the point where its used to train Rakugo performers. Western Anime fans however mostly know of the story through its reference in a skit in Episode 15 of ''[[Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist The Fullmetal 4koma Theatre]]'', [[MemeticMutation and as such usually bring said skit up whenever the story gets referenced anywhere else]].

* ''Jugemu'' is one of the most popular folktales in Japanese culture, being a simple story with the central joke being the title character [[OverlyLongName having waaaay too long of a name]].[[note:Full Name]]Jugemu Jugemu Gokō-no Surikire Kaijarisuigyo-no Suigyōmatsu Unraimatsu Fūraimatsu Kuunerutokoro-ni Sumutokoro Yaburakōji-no Burakōji Paipopaipo Paipo-no Shūringan Shūringan-no Gūrindai Gūrindai-no Ponpokopī-no Ponpokonā-no Chōkyūmei-no Chōsuke[[/note]] It is also a famous story for Rakugo performances, to the point where its used to train Rakugo performers. Western Anime fans however mostly know of the story through its reference in a skit in Episode 15 of ''[[Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist The Fullmetal 4koma Theatre]]'', [[MemeticMutation and as such usually bring said skit up whenever the story gets referenced anywhere else]].

* In a lot of Middle Ages, Renaissance, and English Renaissance literature, it is pretty clear that many writers thought (or thought that their audience would think) that every non-Christian religion worshiped the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek or Roman pantheon]]. ''Literature/TheSongOfRoland'' portrays Muslims as ''Apollo'' or possibly [[BigRedDevil Apollyon]] worshippers -- the actual word in the poem is ''Apollin'', while Shakespeare had characters reference the Greek gods in stories that supposedly took place before those gods' introduction to the specific settings (although that was a method of GettingCrapPastTheRadar, since swearing upon the Christian God was illegal even if onstage). In ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'', despite being ''set in Greece'', the Roman pantheon is used. Though since most of the mythology came from translated Latin work which was either passed down in monasteries or preserved by Muslims (and in that case translated as many as three times), the usage is understandable.

** Creator/JulesVerne: But only children would/should read his early sci-fi slash fantasy books. He also wrote that RaceAgainstTime thing about going Literature/{{around the world in eighty days}}.

* ''Literature/MobyDick'' (mostly for the immortal "Thar she blows!" quote)

* Creator/HPLovecraft: ''Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu'' is by far the most represented of his works to the point that many asumes that his stories are all about people going mad after seeing an Elder God or that Chtulhu is a recurring character.