With the financial independence of his family always in mind, he dreamed of writing a more major work of fiction. Thackeray most likely began writing what would become Vanity Fair in 1845, and he offered it to several publishers, all of whom rejected it. In January 1846, the prospective novel, now titled “The novel without a hero: pen and pencil sketches of English society,” was accepted by Bradbury and Evans for monthly publication. While preparing the first few numbers, Thackeray had a revelation for a new title. “I jumped out of bed and ran three times round my room, uttering as I went, ‘Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair.’” Using this allusion to Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Thackeray shaped the novel into a satire offering a critical view of society.
Vanity Fair appeared serially from January 1847 until July 1848. It was, for the most part, warmly reviewed by critics; Elizabeth Rigby wrote in the Quarterly Review, “We were perfectly aware that Mr. Thackeray had of old assumed the jester’s habit, in order the more unrestrainedly to indulge the privilege of speaking the truth, but still we were little prepared for the keen observations, the deep wisdom, and the consummate art which he has interwoven in the slight texture and whimsical pattern of Vanity Fair. It is one of the most amusing books we have read for many a long year.” Thackeray’s intention was not only to entertain his readers; he wished the novel to be unsettling. As he wrote to his mother on July 2, 1847, “My object is not to make a perfect character or anything like it. Dont you see how odious all the people are in the book (with the exception of Dobbin) – behind whom all there lies a dark moral I hope.”
In many respects, Vanity Fair was a revolutionary novel, establishing realism as the dominant form for English fiction. Italso marked the turning point in Thackeray’s career. It was not initially a financial success (Thackeray wrote to his mother, “It does everything but sell, and appears really immensely to increase my reputation, if not my income”), however it ensured a large readership for all his later works. In a letter to Jane Brookfield on July 24, 1849, he wrote, “There is no use denying the matter or blinking it now. I am become a sort of great man in my way--all but at the top of the tree: indeed there if the truth were known and having a great fight up there with Dickens.”
