Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines Thackeray's conflicting attitudes towards the ephemeral, as manifested in his prevalent use of the journalistic form of the 'sketch' and his early satirical writing on the idea of literary 'fashion', a term etymologically associated with the origins of 'modernity'. Antonia Harland-Lang provides a more thorough account of Thackeray's influential role in the mythologizing of 'Bohemia', tracing his shifting usage of the term from the narrator's characterisation of Becky Sharp to Arthur Pendennis's depiction of the lost fraternal sociability of his youth in The Adventures of Philip. The almanac took the form of a monthly calendar containing predictions for the coming year based on the interpretation of astrological configurations and meteorological signs, as well as marking significant dates such as public holidays.