From School Library Journal
When finished, this projected four-volume set will deliver ``for the first time in annotated form, all the journalism that Dickens published in collected form during his lifetime,'' plus some ephemera. This first volume presents mostly Sketches by Boz (475 of 555 text pages), which hardly needs review. Instead of footnotes, Slater (Univ. of London) provides informative, relatively minimalist headings to chapters, noting first publication data and information on topics, locales, etc., that will interest the general reader but provide little relevant news to experts. This is an attractive package (the 43 Cruikshank illustrations are a real plus), but most of the text is readily available in other editions/collections. Best suited to libraries trying to update, upgrade, or supplement holdings of Miscellaneous Papers, Reprinted Pieces, etc.-Robert E. Brown, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
