This Norton Critical Editinn of a Dickens favorite reprints the 1846 text, the last edition Dickens substantially revised and the one that best mirrors his true intentions. F'or ease of compre-hension, the editor has corrected printers' errors and annotated un|'amiliar terms and allusions. "Three illustrations by George Cruikshank and a map of Oliver's London are also included, "Backgrounds and Sources" focuses on The Poor Law Amend* ment Act of 1834, which is central both to Dickens and to Oliver 7itqst.
The law's far-reaching implications are considered in source materials that irlclude parliamentary debates on The Poor Laws, a harrowing account of an 1835 Bedford-shire riot, and in "An Appeal to Fallen Women." Dickens's t847 open letter to London's prostitutes mging them to turn their backs on "dehauchery and neglect" and to seek refuge. Ten letters on Oliver Twist, ranging from 1837 to 1864, are reprinted,including those to Richard Bentley, the novel's puhlisher; George Cruikshank, the novel's illustrator; and john Forster, Dickens's close friend and I:uture biographen In addition, readers can trace the evolution o[: the novel bu examining Dickens's install-ment and chapter-division plans as well as enjoy "'Sikes and Nancy," the text of a public reading Dickens composecl and performed o[ten to large audiences.
"Earlv Reviews" provides eight witty, insightful, and at times impassioned reactions to the novel and to Oliver's plight by among others, William Makepeace Thackeray and John Forster (anonymously).
"Criticism" includes twenty of the most significant interpretations of Oliver Twist in the twentieth century Included am essays by HemT James, George Gissing, Graham Greene, J, Hillis Miller, HarD, Stone, Philip Collins, John BayIey, Kcith Hollingsworth, Steven Marcus, Mrmroe Engel, James R. Kincaid, Michael Slater,Phil Dennis Walde,Burton M, Wheeleler,Janet .arson. Fred Kaptan, Robert Tracy,David Miller, John O. Jordan, and Garry Wills.
A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.