Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Vanity Fair
    Vanity Fair
    Vanity Fair
    Ebook1,068 pages18 hours

    Vanity Fair

    By William Makepeace Thackeray

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    First published serially from 1847 to 1848, “Vanity Fair” is William Makepeace Thackeray’s most famous work in which the author reflects his interest in deconstructing the notions of literary heroism of his era. It is the story of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, who have just completed their studies at Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies and are beginning to embark upon the world. The simple-minded nature of Amelia, who comes from a wealthy family, is contrasted with the strong-willed nature of Becky, who will stop at nothing to climb the social ranks of English society. The novel takes its name from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most famous work of Thackeray’s day, in which a town called Vanity is depicted to represent man’s sinful attachment to worldly things. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, “Vanity Fair” is Thackeray’s classic satire of the societal trappings of Victorian England, self described as a novel without a hero. This edition includes an introduction by John Edwin Wells and a biographical afterword.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateSep 21, 2020
    ISBN9781420977752
    Author

    William Makepeace Thackeray

    William Makepeace Thackeray was a nineteenth century English novelist who was most famous for his classic novel, Vanity Fair, a satirical portrait of English society. With an early career as a satirist and parodist, Thackeray shared a fondness for roguish characters that is evident in his early works such as Vanity Fair, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, and Catherine, and was ranked second only to Charles Dickens during the height of his career. In his later work, Thackeray transitioned from the satirical tone for which he was known to a more traditional Victorian narrative, the most notable of which is The History of Henry Esmond. Thackeray died in 1863.

    Read more from William Makepeace Thackeray

    Related to Vanity Fair

    Related ebooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Thackeray vs Dickens

      Sep 22, 2021

      Thackeray vs Dickens
      1 min read

    • Article

      Exceeding Expectations

      Nov 23, 2023

      Charles Dickens did not come from a privileged background, but nor were his parents without prospects. John Dickens (1785-1851), was the son of servants to the Crewe family - Cheshire gentry with a townhouse in Mayfair - whose patronage secured him a

      5 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 20, 2023

      Rebecca Makkai’s latest novel, I Have Some Questions For You, is a literary mystery set against the backdrop of a New Hampshire boarding school. Our protagonist, Bodie Kane, is a successful podcaster who is invited back to her alma mater to help some

      3 min read

    • Article

      Jonathan Coe: ‘People Say, Where’s The Anger? It’s Still There’

      Aug 19, 2023

      In a career spanning more than 35 years, notable for novels such as What a Carve Up! and The Rotters’ Club, author Jonathan Coe has established himself as one of the UK’s keenest satirists. His works have become bestsellers in translation, and he’s b

      4 min read

    • Article

      Very Hampstead, very Kingsley Amis

      Oct 29, 2020

      I HEARD THESE WORDS in the Flask Bookshop in Flask Walk, Hampstead — which I owned and ran from 1975 until 1988 — while slumped in the back room on my leather swivel chair, quite as usual, smoking a pipe and reading: I was always reading. It was a un

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Red Monarch

      Oct 28, 2021

      What’s the key idea behind your Bronte Mysteries books? I was writing a novel set in the West Yorkshire village of Haworth, and considered including a cameo from the Bronte sisters [who wrote most of their novels in the village] exploring the same my

      1 min read

    • Article

      Rewriting Her World

      Feb 18, 2021

      Rewriting Her World
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Art of Fiction No. 247

      Sep 8, 2020

      The Art of Fiction No. 247
      38 min read

    • Article

      Over The Hills And Far Away

      Feb 9, 2022

      Over The Hills And Far Away
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Secret History of Creative Nonfiction

      Oct 15, 2021

      A common misconception about literary history is that women weren’t writing professionally or significantly before Jane Austen. To talk about women’s historical oppression, Virginia Woolf famously conjured up an imaginary sister for William Shakespea

      8 min read

    • Article

      The World Of Writing

      Sep 2, 2021

      The October issue of WM means it’s nearly time for Halloween, so forgive something a little ghoulish and, by modern standards, distastefully macabre, for the summer 2021 issue of the Hudson Review has published a remarkable article by Peri Klass on t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Cain’s Jawbone: How Crime Novel’s Puzzling Plot Still Keeps Us Guessing

      Nov 27, 2021

      In 1934 Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express was published and became a bestseller. That same year another murder mystery appeared, to rather less fanfare, by “Torquemada”, a contributor to this newspaper famed for his inscrutable crossword

      5 min read

    • Article

      Liminal Spaces

      Nov 2, 2020

      Liminal Spaces
      11 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Dec 2, 2021

      Shelf Life
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Struggles That Made Charles Dickens

      May 12, 2022

      In 1824, at just 12 years old, Charles John Huffam Dickens had no choice but to leave school and get a job. Born on 7 February 1812, his idyllic childhood had come crashing down when his father, John, who had always been reckless with the money he ea

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Original Fire: On Mary Shelley and Creativity

      Nov 7, 2022

      Shelley chose to record her thoughts only with great care. The post The Original Fire: On Mary Shelley and Creativity appeared first on The Millions.

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Book that Made the Bard: 400 Years of Shakespeare’s Folio

      Nov 8, 2023

      The Folio is our gateway to Shakespeare; it's also a cautionary tale. The post The Book that Made the Bard: 400 Years of Shakespeare’s Folio appeared first on The Millions.

      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Vanity Fair

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1