The editor has made necessary typographical corrections and carefullyintroduced and annotated the text for the student reader.<br /><br />Dickens' number plans for <em>David Copperfield</em>, which reveal his practiceboth as a serial writer and as a craftsman, are also included.<br /><br />"Backgrounds" focuses on Dickens' personal involvement with andresponse to the novel's publication.  Included are passages from hisletters relating to <em>David Copperfield</em>, an autobiographical fragment,his preface to the 1869 edition of the novel, and a relevant excerptfrom Little Dorrit.<br /><br />"Criticism" is comprised of twelve essays by distinguished Dickensiansrepresenting a wide range of judgment and analysis. John Forster,Matthew Arnold, E. K. Brown, Gwendolyn B. Needham, Monroe Engel, J.Hillis Miller, Mark Spilka, Harry Stone, Bert G. Hornback, GarrettStewart, Robert L. Patten, and Alexander Walsh provide a variety ofperspectives.<br /><br />A Chronology of Dickens' Life and Works and a Selected Bibliography arealso included.<br />