matching set?

Sorry to barge in, because I am not a group member, but this seems to be the place to go to post my question.

Is there a complete set of Dickens's works? Or just the novels? I mean a matching edition. If there are several, is one set considered to be of better quality, or easier to find, or in any other way superior to other sets?

I'd like to ask for such a thing for Christmas. Last year, Hubby did a great job of compiling a complete Mark Twain "Author's National Edition" set for me (hours on eBay, mostly). He's ready for a new challenge and Dickens has been on my mind.

Any suggestions? Guidance?

Thanks!

The Easton Press periodically offers a leather bound matched set of Dickens. It does not appear in their current catalog, but individual volumes are often available at Powell's or on eBay.

If you don't mind vintage copies with a few flaws, Powell's currently has quite a few individual volumes from the 22-volume set from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a 13 volume set from Thomas Y Crowell company.

ETA: Nice Hubby you have, willing to do all that detective work to put together a matched set, one volume at a time!

there's always "Everyman" - either the old British versions or the new American ones which have the advantage of acid-free paper so you can be sure they'll be read after you've gone.

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to do a little more sluething around for the set I prefer, and we'll see what he can find.

And yes, he is a nice hubby. But I think he takes to these book set projects as "cover" for his own eBay-nia. ;-) He has quite the jazz vinyl collection going, and collects stamps, so "I'm just seeing what Dickens books I can find" is a perfect excuse.

Oxford did an excellent edition a few years back. I don't think they are still in print, but I'm sure they could be run down used. They were extremely well bound.

Hubby surprised me with a very nice 10-volume "Standard Classics" set this past weekend. He was going to save it for Christmas, but gave it to me early as a "congratulations" present because I won a trial last week (a big deal for me).

It is the complete set of that edition, but not a complete set of Dickens's works. It is Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, The Pickwick Papers, A Tale of Two Cities, and Christmas Stories (some in multiple volumes, which is why there are 10 books total). It is beautiful. The seller said it is a 1930 edition, although I did not find any publication date. He said he found the set in its original box, unread.



That will probably do it for me. I'll go with mismatched editions of the others.

Oooooh prettiness!! :)