The text reprinted in this new edition is that of the 1848 third edition text--the last text corrected by the author. "Contexts" includes eighteen new selections and two new subsections: "Charlotte and Jane's Illustrated Book" which includes a letter from Bronte to her publisher W. S. Williams; "Vignettes from Bewick"; and "Charlotte Bronte and Bewick's "British Birds'" and "Charlotte Bronte as Governess," which includes letters to Emily Bronte, Ellen Nussey, W. S. Williams, and "The Governess-Grinders." "Criticism" collects six major essays on Jane Eyre, four of them new to the Third Edition. Contributors include Adrienne Rich, Sandra M. Gilbert, Jerome Beaty, Lisa Sternlieb, Jeffrey Sconce, and Donna Marie Nudd. A new Chronology and updated Selected Bibliography are also included.