The notes to this edition of Great Expectations are extremely helpful, and the supporting materials are useful, clear, and well-selected. Law and Pinnington have put together an edition that takes into account what the contemporary (and especially, the non-British) reader needs in order to appreciate the novel. All in all, this is an excellent edition. - Sally Mitchell, Temple University
It is high time for this Dickens masterpiece to receive the kind of critical and contextual attention that this edition of Great Expectations affords. The editors provide essential information about Dickens's compositional as well as publishing practices, and they further support this background with a sampling of the lively contemporary dialogue about the text in the periodicals of the day. They issues raised by the novel-namely class and language, and crime and punishment-are amply explored by pertinent historical documentation, including highly-charged autobiographical writing by Dickens himself that was not available to his contemporary readership. Moreover, the introduction expertly guides the reader though the application of these materials in a creative and inviting manner. Law and Pinnington have gathered together an impressive array of contemporary documents to promote an informed reading of this classic text ... In particular, the maps and illustrations of the novel's various settings allow the non-expert to quickly gain insights which should lead to intriguing arguments about how the novel has worked-for its own time as well as our own. I especially commend the editors for their resourceful choices related to the Victorian conception of what constitutes a true gentleman-itself perhaps the key question that helps to unlock the novel. - Carol Hanbery MacKay, University of Texas-Austin
Introduction
Acknowledgements
A Note on the Text
Charles Dickens: A Brief Chronology
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Explanatory Notes
Appendices: Contemporary Documents
Appendix A. The Composition of the Novel
Appendix B. Contemporary Responses to the Novel
Appendix C. On Class and Language
Appendix D. On Crime & Punishment
Maps and Illustrations Showing Settings
Map A: Estuaries of the Thames and Medway
Map B: City of London
Map C: Pip's London
Illustration A. Smithfield Market
Illustration B. Barnard's Inn
Illustration C. The River Front at Hammersmith
Illustration D. Covent Garden Market
Illustration E. The Royal Exchange
Illustration F. The Temple Stairs
Illustration G. London Bridge
Illustration H. Billingsgate Market
Select Bibliography