The novel is fully annotated for undergraduate readers and is accompanied by a Textual Appendix and a map depicting Tom's route to London.

As in the previous edition, Contemporary Reactions by such noteworthy commentators as Samuel Richardson, Samuel Johnson, and the Hill sisters provide rich historical context.

Criticism is a collection of fourteen interpretations of the novel spanning the years 1826-1990 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Forsyth, Kenneth Rexroth, R. S. Crane, John Preston, William Empson, Wayne C. Booth, Martin Battestin, Maaja A. Stewart, Eleanor N. Hutchens, Sean Shesgreen, Frederick W. Hilles, and Sheridan Baker.

A new Chronology and an updated Selected Bibliography are also included.