"The first of four planned volumes, this work, compiled by a respected Dickens scholar, focuses on bibliographies, catalogs, collections, and bibliographical and textual studies of Dickens's works. Containing over 2,500 substantive evaluative annotations in seven sections, this volume (and the other forthcoming volumes) promises to be the most comprehensive annotated bibliography of Dickens's life and work ever compiled. It will provide the foundation for any future scholarship of Dickens's works, and will supersede all other bibliographic efforts on Dickens. The volume's value lies in its comprehensive scope combined with its evaluative and sometimes opinionated annotations. An amazing piece of scholarship, extensively researched, attractively presented with an extensive index covering authors, works and subjects... Summing Up: Essential. Larger colleges and universities."

"This wonderful reference work, which weighs nearly four pounds and features over 2500 adeptly annotated entries, many with extracts from reviews, covers a fantastic range of material...In the introduction DeVries documents the history of Dickensian bibliography, and offers shrewd advice on using the bibliographies, guides, and studies listed...All Dickensians should look forward to the emergence of these books: if the first volume is representative of the immense breadth, careful organization, and incisive critical acumen that this author brings to bear on his subject, they will be well worth the wait."