I’ve read the definitive edition, and I enjoyed it a lot but now I’m wondering if I should buy the critical edition or not, because its quite expensive. Im trying to weigh the pros and cons, like how the critical edition has the unedited parts, but then some parts of it are lost
If you want to just read the unedited raw versions of Anne’s diary (the original bound diary–Version A, and then the rewritten loose sheets–Version B) I recommend “Anne Frank: The Collected Works.” This is, to my knowledge, the only edition which presents each version of the diary in a readable format.
It has Version C (“The Diary of a Young Girl”); Tales from the Secret Annex (which includes her short stories and fables); her letters, other notebooks, the 'Egypt book; as well as diary Version A, diary Version B, and plenty of contextual historical information.
The “Critical Edition” and “Revised Critical Edition” are really not intended for regular reading so much as it is for analysis of each sentence of each version (A, B, and C–the “Diary of A Young Girl” version prior to removed material being re-integrated) bit by bit so that you can see what was included, what was changed, what was removed.
The diary is broken up line by line, like:
Version A
The original sentence that Anne wrote.
Version B
The version she wrote in her rewritten diary.
Version C
The version used in the Diary of a Young Girl published edition.
The Revised Critical Edition does contain some essential material in regards to how the published versions of the Diary came to be, along with detailed analysis of how the diary was confirmed to be authentic with scans of handwriting and other analysis. But the Collected Works might include some of this info as well, especially in regards to the publication history.
But I think from what you seem to be looking for, the “collected works” edition is best.
This is an excellent analysis.
IIRC, these critical editions were published in part because of recurring questions about Anne’s authorship specifically from Holocaust deniers. Again, if memory serves, there is a big section describing the independent analysis of the paper, ink and the cloth cover of the diary to prove that they were manufactured in the correct timeframe, graphological analysis of Anne’s handwriting etc.
It was interesting to see the “raw” entries, Anne’s revision of them in view of publishing them after the war, and the further polishing and editing done by her father. He cut some things he thought were too personal and toned down some of Anne’s snarky commentary.
To me there has never been any question of her authorship. But the edition that everyone reads does sound quite polished for a girl in her early teens, intelligent and talented though Anne was. That’s because what’s being read is not a verbatim transcription of her original diary entries. The critical edition shows you Anne’s unpolished diary entries, the changes Anne made in her revision, and what her father changed later. It’s quite interesting from a literary history standpoint, but for a casual reader it’s probably overkill.