Authored by William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero, is a book which was published in the year 1847-48. The novel satirizes the British society of the early nineteenth century. The title of the book has been derived from the allegorical story written by John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress, which was published first in the year 1678 and had gained popularity. Vanity Fair is a reference to a stoppage along the progress of a pilgrim along a fair that never ends and is held in a town named Vanity. The fair is supposed to be a representation of the sinful attachments of man to worldly things. Vanity Fair is indeed an all time classic novel which has been adapted into many films.
The beginning of the story shows Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies, from where, the primary lead characters of the novel, Amelia Sedley and Becky Sharp have completed their studies and are getting ready to set off for Amelia’s house which is situated in Russell Square. At Amelia’s house, Miss Sharp meets Captain George Osborne, a self-obsessed and dashing person and Joesph Sedley, Amelia’s brother. Becky tries to entice Sedley in order to marry him but that doesn’t happen. Becky moves out from the Sedley family and begins her services as a governess for Sir Pitt Crawley’s daughters. Becky secretly marries Rawdon Crawley, the second son of Sir Pitt Crawley. Becky Sharp is rising in the world on one side and John Sedley, the father of Amelia is going bankrupt. The Osbornes and Sedleys have a very close family friendship at one point of time but the relationship goes through turmoil because of the weakening financial situation of the Sedleys and a rift which forbids the marriage of George and Amelia. George marries Amelia despite the opposition from him family and consequently is inherited from the house. In the mean time, the Napoleonic Wars have begun and George is deployed at Brussels. He meets Captain Crawley and Becky at Brigton where Becky tries to flirt with George. George soon regrets it but it creates a rift between Becky and Amelia which stays for a long time. In the war, Captain Crawley returns back alive but George loses his life. Amelia bears Gerorge’s son who is also name after his father as George. From then on, the events that occur further shows Becky and Crawley living a very wealthy life and Amelia returning to her poor parents. George grows up in poverty but he gets a fortune from Amelia’s father-in-law, his grandfather Mr. Osborne. Amelia, her brother Joseph, George and Dobbin, a friend of Amelia’s husband go on a trip to Germany. They have an encounter with Becky at a cards table there and find her in a character much deteriorated from before. Becky starts to gain control over Joseph again and seduces him eventually. Joseph meets death of a suspicious disease after he has signed an amount of money on Becky’s name. Meanwhile, Dobbin, who always loved Amelia, gets an approval from her. At the end of the book, the readers are informed about the marriage of Amelia and Dobbin. Becky is shown selling trinkets at a fair and living with her son again, who is the new baronet of the Crawley family.
The book has been very well written by the author and is a specimen of classic literature. The storyline, plot and characterization have been executed fantastically by Thackeray. Vanity Fair is a novel worth being called as one among the all time classic books.
