Billerica Public Library

Vanity fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray ; introduction by John Edwin Wells ; illustrated by Charles Crombie

eng

illustrations

no index present

novels

Vanity fair

1123194187

by William Makepeace Thackeray ; introduction by John Edwin Wells ; illustrated by Charles Crombie

Becky Sharp is sharp, calculating, and determined to succeed. Craving wealth and a position in society, she charms, hoodwinks, manipulates everyone she meets, rising in the world as she attaches herself to a succession of rich men. Becky's fortunes are contrasted with those of her best friend Amelia, who has none of Becky's wit and vitality but whose gentle-heartedness attracts the devotion of the loyal Dobbin. Set during the Napoleonic wars, Vanity Fair follows Becky as she cuts a swathe through Regency society. Thackeray paints a panoramic portrait of the age, with war, money and national identity his great subjects. The battle for social success is as fierce as the battle of Waterloo, and its casualties as stricken. The satire is at once biting and profound, sparing none in a clear-eyed exposure of a world on the make. Thackeray's skepticism of human motives borders on cynicism yet Vanity Fair is among the funniest novels of the Victorian age