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Vanity Fair

(Bantam Classic)

By William Makepeace Thackeray

(147)

| Mass Market Paperback | 9780553214628

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Book Description

A deliciously satirical attack on a money-mad society, Vanity Fair, which first appeared in 1847, is an immensely moral novel, and an immensely witty one. Called in its subtitle “A Novel Without a Hero,” Vanity Fair has instead two heroines: the faithful, loyal Amelia SedlContinue

A deliciously satirical attack on a money-mad society, Vanity Fair, which first appeared in 1847, is an immensely moral novel, and an immensely witty one. Called in its subtitle “A Novel Without a Hero,” Vanity Fair has instead two heroines: the faithful, loyal Amelia Sedley and the beautiful and scheming social climber Becky Sharp. It also engages a huge cast of wonderful supporting characters as the novel spins from Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies to affairs of love and war on the Continent to liaisons in the dazzling ballrooms of London. Thackeray’s forte is the bon mot and it is amply exercised in a novel filled with memorably wicked lines. Lengthy and leisurely in pace, the novel follows the adventures of Becky and Amelia as their fortunes rise and fall, creating a tale of both picaresque and risqué. Thackery mercilessly skewers his society, especially the upper class, poking fun at their shallow values and pointedly jabbing at their hypocritical “morals.” His weapons, however, are not fire and brimstone but an unerring eye for the absurd and a genius for observation of the foibles of his age. An enduring classic, this great novel is a brilliant study in duplicity and hypocrisy…and a mirror with which to view our own times.

9 Reviews

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  • 3 people find this helpful

    Vanitas vanitatum

    This book is completly intemporal. Hooking, beautifully written and full of incidents. When I was in the middle, I thought "What else could happen now?". The characters are great and unforgettable, especially Becky, so "Sharp".
    It makes you think on your own world, and you'll find it is not so far ... (continue)

    This book is completly intemporal. Hooking, beautifully written and full of incidents. When I was in the middle, I thought "What else could happen now?". The characters are great and unforgettable, especially Becky, so "Sharp".
    It makes you think on your own world, and you'll find it is not so far from the one described on the book. We are all built upon appearance!

    I have enjoyed every page of it, and it has got 816. That's so much!

    Is this helpful?

    Ena said on Mar 18, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 3 people find this helpful

    I love his sarcasm. Books laughing at human nature never become dated.

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    oriole said on Dec 4, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    For 700 pages W. Makepeace Thakaray stays witty and funny. I really enjoyed reading this book, which proves that nothing is what i seems, but tat is all that counts (not only back then during the Napoleonic Wars, but still nowadays.)
    Becky is such a egotist, but lovely character....
    Whoev ... (continue)

    For 700 pages W. Makepeace Thakaray stays witty and funny. I really enjoyed reading this book, which proves that nothing is what i seems, but tat is all that counts (not only back then during the Napoleonic Wars, but still nowadays.)
    Becky is such a egotist, but lovely character....
    Whoever enjoyed reading "War and peace" will like this one. Whoever enjoyed reading Anna Karenina, Gone with the wind etc. will like it too...

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    Kunstseidenesmaedchen said on Oct 7, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Can't take Tolstoy's "War & Peace" off of my head. And I miss him.
    I find the narrator's intrusiveness in "Vanity Fair" discouraging.

    Is this helpful?

    lilacwine said on Jan 10, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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9780553214628 Mass Market Paperback $6.95 $6.25 bn.com
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$6.95 $7.70 The Book Depository
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