There are several online reference collections available through the Libraries. Oxford Reference Online is a good option for literary topics.

Try a search for your author in Oxford Reference. When the results appear, click on the name of the reference article, example: "Moliere" (and not the title of the encyclopedia as displayed in the results).

Choose a reference title that focuses on literature, or theater depending on whether the work you selected is a novel, or play. You can also try your search in the reference title below:

The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French.