NOTE: I WAS CONNECTED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF THE OXFORD MARK TWAIN
COLLECTION, SO PLEASE TAKE ALL MY COMMENTS IN THE SELF-SERVING SPIRIT IN
WHICH THEY ARE INTENDED.

I must respectfully disagree with Matthew. Although the dubiously named
"comprehensive" edition from Random House does have MORE material, that
does not mean it is a better scholarly edition or that it will serve your
personal collection better over the long run. Both the Oxford Mark Twain
and the Random House editions have excellent essays by Vic Doyno, and both
have wonderfully reproduced illustrations. However, the Oxford edition of
Huckleberry Finn has three major advantages over the Random House:

1) The essay by Toni Morrison. In is she describes the thrill she
encountered the first time she read the book, and explains its lasting
influence on her and other writers. This essay alone is reason to buy the
set. In a better world, her essay would lay to rest the turmoil the book
has endured in recent American racial discourse. In this world, it will
open up some minds and reinforce the arguments of those of us who see Huck
Finn as an essential document in the process of understanding race in 19th
century America. If Jane Smiley troubled you last year, then you need to
read Morrison on Huck. Lend it to people who still take Smiley's article
seriously.

2) The essay by Ray Sapirstein and Beverly David. They do what no other
scolars of this book have been able to do. They explain how Edward Kemble's
original illustrations open up exciting new readings of the text, and show
just how much interest and control over illustrations Twain exercised.
Sapirstein and David have interesting essays in every volume that serve to
elevate this set above previous Twain collections.

3) The fact that as a facsimile of the first American edition you will get
a much better picture of what Twain meant for his readers to read and how
publishers at the time constructed his books. Each volume has a note on the
text by Robert Hirst and another mini-essay by Sapirstein and David that
describe how these books were designed and sold.

So, the Oxford edition of Huck IS essential.

In addition, I would suggest buying the following volumes:

* _1601_, because you can't get it anywhere else.

*_Jumping Frog_, because Roy Blount's forward is so funny it  "warms up"
the reader to the humor of the young, irreverent Twain himself. Imagine
seeing Richard Pryor warm up an audience for Lenny Bruce. No, just go ahead
and imagine Roy Blount warming up an audience for Mark Twain. There. Nice,
huh?

* _The Prince and the Pauper_ for the forward on how the book can be read
as a comment on American manners, written by Miss Manners herself, Judith
Martin. This is my favourite forward in the set. I had never really enjoyed
this book much before, but Martin gave me a reason to really get into it.
She is a skilled humorist in her own right. This world, and this set, would
be much ruder without her.

Picking two or three volumes out of the collection is a tough assignment.
While the three best forwards are by Morrison, Blount and Martin, even the
less interesting or influential Twain works, like _Christian Science_ and
_Joan of Arc_ are enriched by entertaining forwards and insightful
afterwords.

The best thing to do is spend some time with a set in a library, scan the
forwards and afterwords, and select which books best fit your interests.

Have fun,

Siva

Siva Vaidhyanathan
American Studies Department
University of Texas
Austin, TX