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Vanity Fair

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Vanity Fair

By: William Makepeace Thackeray
Narrated by: Jill Masters
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About this listen

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. With an introduction by Catherine Peters.

 Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic reviews

"I do not say there is no character as well drawn in Shakespeare [as D'Artagnan]. I do say there is none that I love so wholly."
--Robert Louis Stevenson

"The lasting and universal popularity of The Three Musketeers shows that Dumas, by artlessly expressing his own nature in the persons of his heroes, was responding to that craving for action, strength and generosity which is a fact in all periods and all places."
--Andreé Maurois
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What a masterful reading of what is, of course, a wonderful book. Audible offers two different unabridged versions, but since the story is mainly about women, a female voice perfectly renders Thackeray?s acid humour. Despite the 150 years which separate us from the author, his descriptions of British society remain very apt!! As with a lot of 19th century novels, one has to go with the flow. There are long passages ? disquisitions on life and death, but if you keep at it you will be swept along with Becky and Amelia, William and Rawdon to the inevitable, cynical end. A really good listen.

A female voice for a story about women

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