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Title: Vanity Fair

Author: William Thackeray

Narrator: Miriam Margolyes

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-01-05

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Set against the background of the Napoleonic wars, Vanity Fair follows the contrasting fortunes of two young women, Amelia Sedley and Becky Sharp, who go out into the world together, but whose lives take very different courses. The sensitive Amelia begins with every social advantage and the prospect of a good marriage, but war and sudden drastic decline in her family's circumstances dash all her hopes; while Becky, a drawing master's daughter with only her wits to rely on, embarks on a campaign to launch herself into society, marries Rawdon Crawley, an aristocratic rake, on an impulse, and begins a giddy social whirl on "nothing a year" and an ocean of debt. Thackeray's "novel without a hero" is a lively satirical journey through English society, exposing greed, snobbery, and pretension.

© William Thackeray; (P)1994 HarperCollins UK

Members Reviews:

Thackeray's Vanity Fair: The Victorian Society

When I read the book I got the impression that I was given a unique oportunity to look at the Victorian society and recognise the things that were both good and bad about it. The novel is "without a hero", as Thackeray proclaims, but it is about the life and development of two women Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley. By comparing and contrasting the two of them, Thackeray manages to show his readers that society in the Victorian Era influenced the development of the character of his heros, but not to the point of actually making them what they turn out to be. It is a wonderful book, full of insight and ever so true for our own time as well. If you want to know many truths about the Victorians and their lives, that's the book to read... You will, undoubtedly, enjoy the experience

Thackery is more than happy to offer several pages of explanation and further clarification

Where most authors would make a statement, and perhaps give a paragraph or two of explanation, Thackery is more than happy to offer several pages of explanation and further clarification. The word usage is perhaps more flowery than modern writing, but the characters are interesting. Becky Sharp would nowadays be either written up as a success story or have enough money to bury the unflattering past. Vanity Fair makes the point that this was a bad time to be without money, for both men and women alike.

Good read prior to watching the movie

This book is a social commentary on the life in the early 1800s. Society's rules are rigid and social climbers are not looked upon with favor. Poverty is deemed a personal fault as well as a social stigma. Becky Sharp is a clever girl who gets her way but ultimately gets ground down by society. She proves herself to be more than a schemer but is not able to achieve the socal status she craves.

Her friend Amelia, as clueless as she can be is ultimately saved from a life of unhappiness through Becky's intervention. Lots of subplots, deviousness, snobbishness, manipulation etc. Life hasn't changed too much. Money is still power, however in those days the upper class could live a long time on credit and their name. Thackeray is none too subtle as to his contempt for social classes and the power they have over the lower classes. I recommend this and then see the movie with Reese Witherspoon.

Favorite Victorian Novel

I wish there was an inexhaustable reserve of Victorian novels like this one but of course there comes a point when you've read them all.