The text reprinted in this Norton Critical Edition is the one estab-lished by R. W. Chapman and universally acknowledged as defini-tive. To arrive at the text, Chapman collated.three early editions of the novel, two published in 1813 and the third in 1817; the text is almost entirely that of the first edition of 1813.

To enable study of Jane Austen's developing craftsmanship, the editor has included in the Backgrounds section three important pieces of her juvenile writing. He also presents important Austen letters on the writing of fiction and on love and courtship, two essays on the composition of the novel, and Henry Austen's biographical notice.

The present edition offers several 19th-century reviews of Jane Austen's work mid At number of important 20th-century essays which elucidate the novel, place it in its historical moment, specify the ways of its author's craft, and enlarge our idea of the character and weight of the matters it addresses. The critics include A. C. Bradley, Reginald Farrer, Mary Lascelles, Samuel Kliger, Dorothy V. Ghent, Reuben A. Brower, Marvin Nfudrick, Andrew H. Wright, Howard S. Babb, E. M. Halliday, and A. Walton Litz.
--back cover