Publisher's Synopsis
The subject of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" is society itself. This novel presents, along with the broad diversity of human life, the multitude of clearly perceived objects that give concrete definition to the lives lived among them and lead us ultimately to recognise the wide range of values of the people who live those lives. Thackeray's ironic use of the sophisticated narrator to mediate this detail serves as the subject of a substantial section of Harden's study. Three other sections cover the work's "Expanding Panorama", its nature as a novel, and Thackeray's ability to balance style and substance.
