This edition of Meredith's satirical novel of manners reprints that of 1897, which incorporated Meredith's revisions to the first edition of 1879.The editor has further emended some errors which escaped Meredith's attention and has provided exceptionally useful notes to the novel.
As background, Meredith's "Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit" is provided. The critical essays are by Robert D. Mayo,Richard B. Hudson, Jenni Calder, Gillian Beer, John Goode, Charles J.Hill, Michael Sundell, Virginia Woolf, John Lucas, and Robert M.Adams.
Preface
The Text of The Egoist
Textual Notes
Backgrounds
George Meredith·An Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit
George Meredith·The Star Sirius
Criticism
Robert D. Mayo·The Egoist and the Willow Pattern
Richard B. Hudson·The Meaning of Egoism in George Meredith's The Egoist
Jenni Calder·The Insurrection of Women
Gillian Beer·The Two Masks and the Idea of Comedy
John Goode·The Egoist: Anatomy or Striptease?
Charles J. Hill·Theme and Image in The Egoist
Michael Sundell·The Functions of Flitch in The Egoist
Virginia Woolf·The Novels of George Meredith
John Lucas·Meredith's Reputation
Robert M. Adams·A Counter Kind of Book
Bibliography
