[1] Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and thinkers of the early twentieth century, its 18 volumes comprise 303 chapters and more than 11,000 pages.

The English-literature chapters begin with Old English poetry and end with the late Victorian era.

Coverage of American literature ranges from colonial and revolutionary periods through the early twentieth century.

[2] William Peterfield Trent, John Erskine, Stuart Sherman and Carl Van Doren were the editors-in-chief of the 4 volumes on American literature.

"[4] The encyclopedia's scope is vast, encompassing "a wide selection of writing on orators, humorists, poets, newspaper columnists, religious leaders, economists, Native Americans, songwriters, and even non-English writing, such as Yiddish and Creole".