Reprinted mostly from journals of literary criticism published during the 1990s, but also earlier anthropologies and earlier and later issues, essays present critical readings of the 1860-61 British novel from such perspectives as stories present and absent in it, realism as self-forgetfulness, narrative interactions and mythic structure, a second level of symbolism, memory and confession, manual conduct, and gender and class. Introductory essays summarize the plot, profile Dickens, offer a Paris Review perspective, set the literary context, describe the novel's critical reception, and tease out the theme of transition. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)