I'll soon be posting a lengthy critical review of the new
Oxford Mark Twain (OMT) set. Because unavoidable
circumstances have delayed completion of my review, I'm
posting this note as a "preview" review. I want to make sure
that all forum subscribers know that the set's price is
going up at the end of this month. Oxford's
introductory price is $295; a special library edition is
$395. On January 31, the price of each set goes up $100.
Individual volumes go for prices ranging from ca. $15 to $25
each. The introductory price of the entire set is thus about
half the total price of individual volumes.

     For those not presently aware of the nature of this
set, I'll briefly state that it contains 29 jacketed
hardbound volumes of facsimile reprints of American first
editions of books published during Mark Twain's lifetime
(plus a volume of speeches published shortly after he died).
Several OMT volumes combine more than a single original book
(e.g., _Extracts from Adam's Diary_ and _Eve's Diary_ are
bound together). Not every American first edition is
represented in this set, but the most important books are in
the set, and most of the contents of the missing book titles
(e.g., _Punch, Brothers, Punch!_) appear somewhere in the
set. Note that the OMT contains nothing that was first
published in book form after 1910. (My review will discuss
specifics on all these points.).

     Most of the book titles in the OMT have never been
available before in facsimile editions (including,
amazingly, the lavishly illustrated _A Tramp Abroad_ and
_Life on the Mississippi_); some of these books have not
been available in _any_ edition for over a century (e.g.,
_The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other
Sketches_). Collectors should also be aware that the first
editions of story and essay collections (such as _Sketches
New and Old_) that share titles with later Harper uniform
editions, do not have exactly the same contents as the later
editions. In some cases the differences are substantial.
(Again, I'll discuss specifics in my review.)

     The OMT bindings are sturdy; the quality of the paper
is good; and the quality of the facsimile reproductions
ranges from good to excellent. This much alone should be
more than enough to justify the set's bargain price. It's a
marvelous opportunity to pick up fine-quality copies of most
of Mark Twain's original books for a price that will almost
certainly never again be matched. Indeed, the average price
of these books is lower than the prices of some paperback
editions of certain titles.

     If that is not enough to persuade you to acquire this
set immediately, there's more: Shelley Fisher Fishkin, the
set's general editor, has assembled a remarkable group of
authors and scholars to add substantial new introductions
and afterwords to each volume. The illustrated volumes also
contain new essays on the illustrators by Beverly David and
Ray Sapirstein. A list of individual book titles and their
contributors follows this note.

     I'll save my further remarks for my formal review. For
now, I encourage anyone with a serious interest in Mark
Twain to give immediate consideration to purchasing this set
before the price increase. For ordering information, contact
your local book stores, or any specialty Mark Twain shops,
catalog book dealers, or Oxford University Press itself
(800-334-4249). Allow about $20 for shipping. (I've been
told, but haven't confirmed, that some catalog dealers are
offering the OMT at prices substantially below $295.)


OXFORD MARK TWAIN VOLUMES
With original dates of publication and names of authors and
scholars who have contributed new introductions and
afterwords.

_The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other
Sketches_ (1867)
   Introduction: Roy Blount, Jr.
   Afterword: Richard Bucci

_The Innocents Abroad_ (1869)
   Intro.: Mordecai Richler
   Aftwd.: David E.E. Sloane

_Roughing It_ (1872)
   Intro.: George Plimpton
   Aftwd.: Henry Wonham

_The Gilded Age_ (1873)
   Intro.: Ward Just
   Aftwd.: Gregg Camfield

_Sketches, New and Old_ (1875)
   Intro.: Lee Smith
   Aftwd.: Sherwood Cummings

_The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_ (1876)
   Intro.: E.L.Doctorow
   Aftwd.: Albert Stone

_A Tramp Abroad_ (1879)
   Intro.: Russell Banks
   Aftwd.: James Leonard

_Prince and the Pauper_ (1882)
   Intro.: Judith Martin
   Aftwd.: Everett Emerson

_Life on the Mississippi_ (1883)
   Intro.: Willie Morris
   Aftwd.: Lawrence Howe

_Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ (1885)
   Intro.: Toni Morrison
   Aftwd.: Victor Doyno

_A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court_ (1889)
   Intro.: Kurt Vonnegut
   Aftwd.: Louis J. Budd

_Merry Tales_ (1892)
   Intro.: Anne Bernays
   Aftwd.: Forrest Robinson

_The American Claimant_ (1892)
   Intro.: Bobbie Ann Mason
   Aftwd.: Peter Messent

_The Million Pound Bank-note_ (1893)
   Intro.: Malcolm Bradbury
   Aftwd.: James Wilson

_Tom Sawyer Abroad_ (1894)
   Intro.: Nat Hentoff
   Aftrwd.: M. Thomas Inge

_The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those
Extraordinary Twins_ (1894)
   Intro.: Sherley Anne Williams
   Aftrwd.: David L. Smith

_The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc_ (1896)
   Intro.: Justin Kaplan
   Aftrwd.: Susan Harris

_The Stolen White Elephant and Other Detective Stories_
(1882, 1896, 1902; includes _Tom Sawyer, Dectective_ and
_Double-Barrelled Detective Story_)
   Intro.: Walter Mosley
   Aftrwd.: Lillian Robinson

_How to Tell a Story and Other Essays_ (1897)
   Intro.: David Bradley;
   Aftrwd.: Pascal Covici, Jr.

_Following the Equator_ & Anti-Imperialist Essays (1897,
1901, 1905)
   Intro.: Gore Vidal;
   Aftrwd.: Fred Kaplan

_The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories &
Essays_ (1900)
   Intro.: Cynthia Ozick;
   Aftrwd.: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

_The Diaries of Adam and Eve_ (1904, 1906)
   Intro.: Ursula Le Guin;
   Aftrwd.: Laura Skandera-Trombley

_What Is Man?_ (1906)
   Intro.: Charles Johnson;
   Aftrwd.: Linda Wagner-Martin

_The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories_ (1906)
   Intro.: Frederick Busch;
   Aftrwd.: Judith Yaross Lee

_Christian Science_ (1907)
   Intro.: Garry Wills;
   Aftrwd.: Hamlin Hill

_Chapters from My Autobiography_ (from pages of the _North
American Review_, 1906-1907)
   Intro.: Arthur Miller;
   Aftrwd.: Michael Kiskis

_1601_ and _Is Shakespeare Dead?_ (1882, 1909)
   Intro.: Erica Jong;
   Aftrwd.: Leslie Fiedler

_Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven_ (1909)
   Intro.: Frederik Pohl;
   Aftrwd.: Jim Miller

_Mark Twain's Speeches_ (1910)
   Intro.: Hal Holbrook;
   Aftrwd.: David Barrow