Product Description

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

Introduction by Catherine Peters

A panoramic satire of English society during the Napoleonic Wars, Vanity Fair is William Makepeace Thackeray’s masterpiece. At its center is one of the most unforgettable characters in nineteenth-century literature: the enthralling Becky Sharp, a charmingly ruthless social climber who is determined to leave behind her humble origins, no matter the cost. Her more gentle friend Amelia, by contrast, only cares for Captain George Osborne, despite his selfishness and her family’s disapproval. As both women move within the flamboyant milieu of Regency England, the political turmoil of the era is matched by the scheming Becky’s sensational rise—and its unforeseen aftermath.

Based in part upon Thackeray’s own love for the wife of a friend, Vanity Fair portrays the hypocrisy and corruption of high society and the dangers of unrestrained ambition with epic brilliance and scathing wit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #187266 in Books
• Published on: 1991-10-15
• Released on: 1991-10-15
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.30" h x 1.65" w x 5.38" l, 1.84 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 800 pages

From AudioFile
The incomparable Miriam Margolyes applies her story-telling and histrionic gifts to this classic satire of two young English women, one bad but clever and the other good but stupid, who come to no good during the Napoleonic Wars. The abridgers have cut a bit too much at the expense of the characterizations. Although sounding somewhat forced, Margolyes, as always, gives an excellent performance. Y.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
“Vanity Fair was Thackeray’s masterpiece. Subversive, funny, complex and serious, it is the work of an intellectual athlete at the height of his powers.”
—from the Introduction by Catherine Peters

Ingram
Essentially a commentary on hypocrisy and those ethical principles to which society pays lip-service, VANITY FAIR (1847-8) is a classic epic extending from urban and rural England to Waterloo and the continental haunts of exiles. Considered one of the greatest social-satirical novels in English, this edition includes all of the author's own illustrations.