There are several scholarly series which offer insight into the context and times of authors and literary periods. Here are some suggested resources:

• Literature in Context is a series from Cambridge University Press containing collections of short essays regarding authors and their influences.
• Oxford Handbooks: Literature (online access is forthcoming!)
• Cambridge Companions to Literature

Interested in browsing the library catalog for literary biographies?  Subject headings are a great way to conduct a literature survey online.  Below are some sample subject headings pertaining to literary biography:

• Authors, English — 18th century — Biography
• Dramatists, English — Early modern, 1500-1700 — Biography — History and criticism
• Poets, American — 20th century — Biography
• Women poets, American — 20th century — Biography