In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

• From the Editor
• Dominic Rainsford

These days, the majority of readers of Dickens Quarterly probably access the journal electronically. But those who receive hard copies will already have noticed what for some may be a rather stunning transformation. This issue, March 2021, comes with a new cover: the first major change of this kind since the journal was founded in 1984, and indeed since the second issue of our previous incarnation, Dickens Studies Newsletter, in September 1970.

Part of the reason for the change is to acknowledge the gradually evolving nature of Dickens studies and the advent of new generations of Dickens scholars, with new approaches and perhaps a different sense of tradition and design from the norm of half a century ago. Nevertheless, the new look is not intended to be brashly of-the-moment. On the contrary, it celebrates what has always been at the center of Dickens studies: the texts themselves. The words now displayed on the cover, in Dickens's own hand, come from the working notes for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, now part of the Forster Bequest in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Dickens's handwriting on this page wonderfully expresses his energy (rather more so than many of his portraits), while the many alternative titles for the novel suggest his linguistic creativity, and the final line, "Dead? Or alive?" presents, as it were, the central crux of Dickens studies: is he "just" a pre-eminent 19th-century author or is he still very much with us? (Both, of course.)

I am very grateful to a number of friends and colleagues who participated in the decision and helped organise a speedy transition. Dickens Quarterly's production editor, Amanda Helm, came up with the design itself, in response to some quite vague ideas on my part. The other members of the editorial team, together with my predecessor, David Paroissien, gave generous support, as did President Sean Grass and other members of the Dickens Society executive. The Victoria & Albert Museum processed our request for the rights to the image very expeditiously, and Johns Hopkins University Press gave approval and moved ahead with the practicalities, all within a narrow time-frame. We hope that our readers will be happy with the results–once the initial shock has worn off. No disrespect whatsoever is intended to the gusto and brilliance of George Cruikshank, who has after all had a pretty good run. [End Page 5]

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Meanwhile, the Dickens Society has taken a far more significant step in issuing the "Anti-racism Statement" which we reproduce below– and which Dickens Quarterly fully supports. It is a happy coincidence that we are able to include Shannon Russell's article on Dickens and Frederick Douglass in the current issue, and we would like to welcome many further contributions to the understanding of race in Dickens studies. This is a matter of taking responsibility and doing justice, in the spirit of the Society's "Statement," but it is also a matter of opening up insufficiently explored areas in Dickens's life and art, of great intrinsic significance (and not always to Dickens's discredit). With this in mind, we look forward to hosting a special issue on "Dickens and Race": not because anything so momentous can or should be wrapped up in one number of the journal, but rather to add momentum to a process of expansive re-thinking that will surely play out for many years to come. As Amanda Gorman said, in her poem for the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris: "… inherit. / … repair it."

Anti-racism Statement of the Charles Dickens Society

In light of the murder of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis Police Department, the even more recent shooting of Jacob Blake, and the other unconscionable acts of violence inflicted lately and too routinely upon members of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities in the United States and around the world, the Dickens Society affirms that it stands in solidarity with BIPOC individuals and organizations. We stand with the courageous protestors demanding racial justice, and we repudiate the institutions and individuals who would deny them the justice to which they are entitled...

中文翻译：

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来自编辑

代替摘要，这里是内容的简要摘录：

• 来自编辑
• 多米尼克·雷恩斯福德（Dominic Rainsford）

如今，《狄更斯季刊》的大多数读者可能都以电子方式访问该杂志。但是那些收到纸质版的人已经注意到，对于某些人来说，这可能是一个相当惊人的转变。2021年3月，这一期杂志有新封面：这是自1984年该杂志成立以来的第一次重大变化，而实际上是自上一届化身《狄更斯研究通讯》第二版以来（1970年9月）。

发生这种变化的部分原因是要承认狄更斯研究的不断发展的性质和狄更斯新一代学者的来临，他们采用了新的方法，也许与半个世纪前的规范有了不同的传统和设计意识。尽管如此，新外观并不打算过时。相反，它颂扬了狄更斯研究一直以来的核心：文本本身。现在，封面上显示的文字是狄更斯本人所为，来自《埃德温·德罗德之谜》的工作笔记。，现在已成为维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆的《福斯特遗赠》的一部分。狄更斯在这页上的笔迹很好地表达了他的精力（而不是他的许多肖像），而小说的许多其他标题都暗示了他的语言创造力，最后一行是“死了还是活着？”。呈现了狄更斯研究的核心问题：他是“只是”一位19世纪杰出的作家，还是他仍然非常与我们在一起？（当然都是。）

我非常感谢参与该决定并帮助组织快速过渡的许多朋友和同事。狄更斯季刊的制作编辑Amanda Helm提出了设计本身，以回应我的一些相当模糊的想法。编辑团队的其他成员，以及我的前任大卫·帕劳西恩（David Paroissien），以及肖恩·格拉斯（Sean Grass）总统和狄更斯学会（Dickens Society）执行官的其他成员，都给予了慷慨的支持。维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆非常迅速地处理了我们要求获得图像版权的请求，约翰霍普金斯大学出版社则在很短的时间内批准并推进了实用性。我们希望读者对结果感到满意-一旦最初的冲击消失了。乔治·克鲁克香克（George Cruikshank）表现出色，他的热情和才华无可厚非。[结束页5]

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同时，狄更斯协会在发布“反种族主义声明”方面迈出了更为重要的一步，我们在下面对此进行了重述，而《狄更斯季刊》完全支持。我们能够将香农·罗素（Shannon Russell）在狄更斯和弗雷德里克·道格拉斯（Frederick Douglass）上的文章纳入本期，这是一个令人高兴的巧合，我们欢迎对狄更斯研究中的种族理解做出更多的贡献。按照协会的“声明”精神，这是承担责任和伸张正义的问题，但也是在狄更斯的生活和艺术中开放探索不足的领域的问题，这具有重大的内在意义（并非总是使狄更斯的信誉下降） ）。考虑到这一点，我们期盼着在《狄更斯与种族》上发行一期特刊：不是因为如此重要的事情可以或应该被包裹在一本期刊中，而是要为不断扩大的重新出版过程增添动力。这种想法肯定会持续很多年。

查尔斯·狄更斯学会的反种族主义声明

鉴于明尼阿波利斯警察局谋杀乔治·弗洛伊德（George Floyd），雅各布·布雷克（Jacob Blake）的最近枪击事件以及最近和过于频繁地对BIPOC成员（黑人，土著人和有色人种）施加的其他不合理的暴力行为）在美国和世界各地的社区中，狄更斯协会肯定它与BIPOC个人和组织保持一致。我们与要求种族正义的勇敢的抗议者站在一起，我们否认会否定他们有权享有的正义的机构和个人。