The Work and the Reader in Literary Studies

Paul Eggert is Professor Emeritus at Loyola University, Chicago and the University of New South Wales. He previously held the Svaglic Chair in Textual Studies at Loyola University. He has edited critical editions of works by D. H. Lawrence, Henry Kingsley, Rolf Boldrewood, Henry Lawson and Joseph Conrad, and is the author of Securing the Past: Conservation in Art, Architecture and Literature (Cambridge, 2009), which won the Society for Textual Scholarship's Finneran Award as the best book of editorial theory for 2009–10.

• Preface; List of illustrations; 1. Introduction: the book, the work and the scholarly edition; 2. Reviving the work-concept: music, literature and historic buildings; 3. The digital native encounters the printed scholarly edition called Hamlet; 4. The reader-oriented scholarly edition; 5. Digital editions: the archival impulse and the editorial impulse; 6. The work, the version and the Charles Harpur Critical Archive; 7. Book history and literary study: the late nineteenth century and Rolf Boldrewood; 8. Book history and literary study: Joseph Conrad and D. H. Lawrence; 9. Adaptation, folklore and the work: the Ned Kelly story; 10. Conclusion: what editors edit, and the role of the reader; Bibliography; Index.

'Eggert's evident expertise and genuine passion for the subject underpins a volume of true worth. The Work and The Reader in Literary Studies offers an informed reflection of scholarly editing, book history and literary studies by a textual editor of international standing. It is a welcome addition to the field of textual studies, exploring the possibilities of the discipline and re-envisioning the role of the scholarly editor.' Allan H. Simmons, St Mary's University and General Editor of the series The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Joseph Conrad