ABSTRACT
Historical editors are like those archaeologists who specialize in chipping away the accretions of time, so that other archaeologists can study the artifact underneath. The challenge of editing Thomas Carlyle's works is a basic one: all of his works were published in multiple authorized editions during his lifetime, and no two editions of the same work are even close to identical. The main objective of the Strouse editorial policy is to create an 'authorial' edition. This means eliminating, as far as possible, the textual contributions of the typesetters while preserving Carlyle's intentions for the text. Each historical variant becomes what Carlyle might call a miraculous 'Fact'. Perhaps the most famous instance of Carlyle's willingness to revise in the service of truth occurs in 'The Sinking of the Vengeur' episode in The French Revolution. Carlyle did further research, explored the complete historiography of the event, and emphatically retracted his earlier account.
