In preparing this edition I have benefited from the generous assistance of several Machen scholars; I must particularly thank Mark Valentine and James Machin for their help on several points of information. I am grateful as well to the following for expert opinion, advice, and aid of various kinds: Millard Baublitz, Mark Bills, Michael Booth, Peter Brabham, Godfrey Brangham, William Charlton, Barry Faulk, Billy Flesch, James Gregory, James Hamill, Gregg Jaeger, Darryl Jones, Roanne Kantor, Valerie Lester, Roger Luckhurst, Natalie McKnight, Jim Mussell, Tom Noel, Bob Patten, Aidan Reynolds, and Justin Willis. Finally, I owe thanks to my editor, Luciana O’Flaherty, for making this book possible; to Kizzy Taylor-Richelieu, Rowena Anketell, Lisa Eaton, and everyone else at Oxford University Press for their expertise and assistance; and to the project’s anonymous readers for their perceptive comments and suggestions.