From Robinson Crusoe to Huckleberry Finn, fictional characters have captured our imaginations and shaped our cultural mythology. In this delightful book, Pillsbury offers biographical sketches of some of the most famous figures in literature, drawing on the original sources and shedding new light on their creators and contexts. With engaging prose and insightful commentary, this book is a must-read for any lover of literature and storytelling. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.