With the Oxford Francis Bacon project yet to be completed, after more than 150 years the standard scholarly edition of Francis Bacon's (1561–1626) complete works is still The works of Francis Bacon. This great but now almost outdated Victorian edition was first published in London in seven volumes, 1857–1859. It has a rather complex publication history, often leading to confusion, which is well worth telling in full. The story is used here as an opportunity to look at some of the practical considerations and discussions behind this classic edition: the alternative plans for its arrangement and publication, and the conflict between the publisher and the editors relating to the scholarly implications of making the edition either as profitable or as readable as possible.

由于牛津弗朗西斯培根项目尚未完成，150 多年后，弗朗西斯培根（1561-1626 年）全集的标准学术版仍然是弗朗西斯培根的作品。这本伟大但现在几乎已经过时的维多利亚版本于 1857 年至 1859 年在伦敦首次出版，共七卷。它有一个相当复杂的出版历史，经常导致混淆，这是非常值得完整讲述的。这个故事在这里作为一个机会来审视这个经典版本背后的一些实际考虑和讨论：它的安排和出版的替代计划，以及出版商和编辑之间关于制作这个版本的学术影响的冲突尽可能有利可图或可读。