‘Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?’
No one is better equipped in the struggle for wealth and worldly success than the alluring and ruthless Becky Sharp, who defies her impoverished background to clamber up the class ladder. Her sentimental companion Amelia, however, longs only for caddish soldier George. As the two heroines make their way through the tawdry glamour of Regency society, battles – military and domestic – are fought, fortunes made and lost.
The one steadfast and honourable figure in this corrupt world is Dobbin with his devotion to Amelia, bringing pathos and depth to Thackeray’s gloriously satirical epic of love and social adventure.
Vanity Fear
John Sutherland: ‘I’d take Vanity Fair, which I think is the greatest novel in England.’ Sue Lawley: ‘Not Middlemarch?’ JS: ‘It’s more fun than Middlemarch. And you don’t feel...
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