William Makepeace Thackeray — Vanity Fair, a Novel without a Hero

London, Bradbury and Evans, 1848. First edition. Leather. A first edition, first issue of this major Victorian novel from William Makepeace Thackeray, illustrated throughout by the author. The first edition, first issue of Thackeray's critically acclaimed Victorian novel, a satire of early 19th-century Britain. The first issue with the suppressed woodcut of the Marquis of Steyne on page 336, with "Mr. Pitt" for "Sir Pitt" on page 453, and the rustic heading on page one. This copy lacks the advertisement for The Great Hoggarty Diamond preceding the frontispiece. Thackeray's novel follows the entangled adventures of two school friends, the gentle and trusting Amelia Sedley and the calculating Becky Sharp, as they come of age during the Napoleonic War. Thackeray displays an interest in deconstructing his era's conventions regarding heroism, with the work sometimes considered the foundation of the Victorian domestic novel. Illustrated with an engraved title page and frontispiece, and thirty-six further plates, all the work of the author himself. Collated, lacking two plates. A generally smart copy of a celebrated novel. In a half calf binding with marbled paper covered boards. Gilt detailing to back strip, with light rubbing to back strip head. Hinges strained and just a touch tender. Internally, firmly bound. Pages age toned due to paper type, with foxing throughout, most concentrated to plate perimeters and the leaves surrounding them. Major closed tear to page 63, affecting text. Lacking two plates, but retaining their tissue guards. Good . Ill.: William Makepeace Thackeray. Good .