VANITY FAIR: A NOVEL WITHOUT A HERO

Set during the Napoleonic wars, Vanity Fair (1847-8) famously satirizes worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp, and Amelia Sedley, pampered child of a rich City merchant. Despite the differences in their fortunes and characters, they find their lives entangled from childhood. As Becky's maneuvering ingratiates her with high society, the financial ruin of Amelia's father forces Amelia into poverty. Destiny, of course, has further adventures in store for both women, whose lives Thackeray (1811-63) uses as theatres for the whims and foibles of their contemporaries.

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William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was born in Calcutta but sent to England at the age of six. A journalist for many years, he wrote many novels with a socially satirical edge, including The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. and, most famously, Vanity Fair.