The Bonfire of the Vanities was originally serialized in Rolling Stone magazine in 1984-1985, but the final novel varies dramatically from the serialization. In the earlier version, Sherman, a largely sympathetic character often referred to as "the Great Observer," was a writer rather than an ego-maniacal bond trader. That transformation of Sherman's character is the crucial difference between the serialization and the published novel: many of the de tails of the serialized Sherman presented him as a victim, but most of his good intentions are subdued if not altogether lost in the published novel.

Written to meet deadlines, the serialization lacks the balance, fluidity, and polish of the published novel.

The Bonfire of the Vanities is perhaps most closely related to Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers (1970) as both are concerned with social status and racial tensions. Freed from the constraints of factual accounts, Wolfe's...