WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY (1811-1863)

Vanity Fair has come down to posterity as Thackeray's most well known and best praised work. Apparently begun in 1845, Vanity Fair--a name derived from a phrase in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress that allegedly occurred to Thackeray in a dream--was originally published serially in 19 monthly numbers of 20 parts (the last issue being a double one) by Bradbury and Evans, the publishers of the satirical magazine Punch. The first part appeared in January, 1847 and the last in July, 1848; the series was entitled Vanity Fair: Pen and Pencil Sketches of English Society.

The novel appeared in book form immediately following the final part in 1848. The volume contains forty full-page plates, including the engraved title page, and 150 woodcuts by the author. The copy shown is the first issue of the first edition, which contains the suppressed woodcut of the "Marquis of Steyne," the text that reads, "Mr. Pitt," instead of "Sir Pitt," and other variants.