Bleak House

ThisauthoritativetextofBleakHousewasthefirsttobeestablishedbyacomparativestudyofallthesurvivingversionsofDickens’novel,incorporatingevidencefromtheoriginalmanuscriptandcorrectedproofs.StudyofthegenesisofthenovelisfacilitatedbythereproductionofDickens’workingplansand,forthefirsttime,bysomethousandsofmeticuloustextualnotes."Backgrounds"offersallofDickens’correspondenceaboutBleakHouseaswellascontextualmaterialsthatdocumenttheVictoriancontroversyoverpollution,athemecentraltothenovel,andpresentcontemporaryattitudestowardthegovernment,thecourts,andthepolice,toenhancethesettingofthestory.Alsofeaturedareseveralhundredannotationswhichfullyelucidatefortoday’sreaderstheallusionsandtopicalreferencesinthisremarkablyallusiveVictorianmasterpiece.EspeciallyhelpfulisaclearexpositionofthenatureoflawproceduresintheCourtofChancery,whichiscrucialtoanunderstandingofthecentralactionofthestory."Criticalessays"reprintedhereincludeinterpretationsbyG.K.Chesterton,J.HillisMiller,GeorgeFord,A.O.J.Cockshut,W.J.Harvey,H.M.Daleski,andIanOusby.