Annotations to "Vanity Fair," Second Edition

This second edition of a unique companion to Thackeray's great novel enables the reader to follow the novelist step by step through the maze of his erudition, clarifying the immense range of references in the novel. Since these annotations are keyed to Thackeray's chapters, not to the page numbers of any particular edition of the novel, they can be consulted in connection with any edition of Vanity Fair the reader happens to own. Within each chapter of this book, the entries follow the order in which they appear in the novel. In addition to the words, phrases, and allusions which obviously or possibly require annotation, the compilers have occasionally commented upon subtleties of narrationówithout intruding critical opinions upon the readeróand entered a few remarks on Thackeray's own illustrations. They have also addressed textual matters, questions of composition and publication, connections with other areas of Thackeray's oeuvre, and the influence of other works of literature on the novel. Intended for undergraduate and graduate students studying the English Novel. Also of interest to scholars in the field of Victorian Literature as well as general readers.

Oscar Mandel is Professor in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author of numerous books and articles in the fields of drama, fiction, poetry and literary criticism. John Andrew Sutherland is Professor of Literature at the California Institute of Technology.