Vanity Fair

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

Original en 301171 words First published 1848 United Kingdom

Thackeray's 1847-48 masterpiece, subtitled 'A Novel without a Hero'. Becky Sharp — poor, clever, amoral, and irresistibly alive — claws her way through Regency England from school friendship with the gentle Amelia Sedley, through the Battle of Waterloo, to the heights and depths of society, ruining most of what she touches and entertaining everyone else. The great English novel of social climbing, told with an ironist's relish and a moralist's despair: the world is the fair, and everyone is for sale.

Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.

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