Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair is William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel of ambition and social life, following Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley through contrasting fortunes. Becky’s resourcefulness and Amelia’s attachments reveal different vulnerabilities in a world governed by wealth, patronage, and appearances. Family alliances and personal hopes unfold against the upheavals of the Napoleonic era. The narrator repeatedly interrupts the action, drawing attention to the theatrical quality of social behaviour and even of the story itself. Wit and discomfort remain close companions as respectable surfaces give way to calculation, misplaced trust, and the desire for recognition.