Look what I found: an edition of Bleak House--illustrated by EDWARD GOREY!!!!!
The drawings aren't quite as sinister as many of his own works, but still, awful damn perfect for Dickens.
This won't be my primary reading text for the Bleak House read-along (coming soon! Are you ready??); it has no footnotes or end notes, and I do need those. But you can bet I'll be checking out the drawings for each section. Speaking of sections...
I haven't read Bleak House before. I saw the PBS miniseries years ago, but barely remember any of it, so I expect to uncover plenty of surprises while reading. Then I thought, well, gee, I'm sort of the moderator for this read-along, maybe I should study up on the book even if that means encountering spoilers, so I can make some educated comments. But I really don't want to. But I really feel like I should. So--those of you joining in, what do you think?
You could read the front matter in the nice Penguin edition. Lots of good bkgrnd info there to assuage your guilt.
Posted by: heideland | October 17, 2012 at 04:46 PM
The OUP edition is pretty good for notes too (I've not seen the Penguin to compare). Your edition is lovely though, I always think Dickens' books should illustrated for best effect. :)
Posted by: Alex in Leeds | October 17, 2012 at 04:52 PM
We have an old, very heavy paperback copy of BH that has no notes. Then I got a Barnes and Noble copy of BH for a readalong that I started and abandoned as they were doing it wrong. (IMO, at least). Bonus points for B & N: illos! But they have notes as if a stupid person were reading. Alex in Leeds, I favor the OUP edition because it has notes that a reasonably educated person can use, and thus want to get that, plus I want the pretty Penguin edition that Amy has, and also the Edward Gorey. And yet, a tiny voice in me says that two household copies of BH are plenty, and to just get over myself already.
As for preparing: it's a readalong. We're all just reading along. Just don't get behind. Then we'll devour you. Heh.
Posted by: Girl Detective | October 17, 2012 at 07:44 PM
OMG!!! I love this!
Posted by: Trish | October 17, 2012 at 08:27 PM
Well, all this discussion has led to my ordering the OUP edition. Which makes 3 editions of this book that I will own but have never read. Sheesh. I will take a look at some of the critical discussions and decide as I go along how many spoilers I am willing to look at. Fun! Looking forward to it!
Posted by: Amy Rea | October 18, 2012 at 05:54 PM
LUCKY!!! Is that available online?? Or was it a chance secondhand find? Can you provide us with the publisher, etc?
Posted by: claire | October 21, 2012 at 01:37 AM
Claire, it is available online. Just Google Bleak House Edward Gorey and you will find several sources. I stumbled on it by accident on Amazon.
Posted by: Amy Rea | October 21, 2012 at 09:45 AM
Thank you, I will!
Posted by: claire | October 21, 2012 at 01:03 PM