(print) xiv, 485 p. : ill. ; 24 cm

Illustrations vii -- Acknowledgments ix -- Note on Documentation xiii -- Introduction : The Protean Thackeray 3 -- Part One : "The Humorous Ego" : Panoramic Vision -- 1 "The Whole Edifice of Humanity" 17 -- 2 "Literaryture and the Fine Harts" 57 -- 3 "The Great Drama of the World" 87 -- 4 "Our Darling Romances" 113 -- Part Two : "The Laughing Philosopher" : Fraser's Period -- 5 Catherine ; or, "Unmixed Rascality" 147 -- 6 The Great Hoggarty Diamond : A Moral and Economical Tale 173 -- 7 Barry Lyndon : Irish Heroes and Demireps 201 -- Part Three : "The Punch Connexion" : The Moralist of the Booths -- 8 Vanity Fair ; or, The Mysteries of Mayfair 231 -- 9 Pendennis ; or, The Man of the World 274 -- Part Four : "The Week-Day Preacher" : The Novelist as Public Educator -- 10 Henry Esmond ; or, The Complete Cavalier 313 -- 11 The Newcomes : Families Respectable and Otherwise 356 -- 12 The Virginians : The Old World and the New 394 -- 13 "The Preacher of Cornhill" : Roundabout and Retrospect 426 -- Chronology : Some Significant Events in Thackeray's Career 459 -- Index 471