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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A solid olde comedie with a fair amount of wit and pathos.
Things I liked - the knowing narrator who is constantly winking at the reader and who makes a surprising appearance as a character in the last few chapters.
Things I didn't like - the annoying smug tone of the same winking narrator. Like Charles Dickens at his most annoying...
Things I liked - the knowing narrator who is constantly winking at the reader and who makes a surprising appearance as a character in the last few chapters.
Things I didn't like - the annoying smug tone of the same winking narrator. Like Charles Dickens at his most annoying...
The story follows social climber Becky Sharp as she maneuvers her way through high society using her talents, wits, and charms to manipulate men, leading to her eventual downfall after a scandal. The other main character is the naive, innocent, and dutiful Amelia Sedley who goes from riches to poverty and back again, while idolizing her deceased husband George who dies during the Battle of Waterloo and her obsessive care of their son they have together sometimes to the point of selfishness.
The book satires English and London upper-class and middle-class society as representing a new Vanity Fair, a place where your social status depends not on important things like personal qualities or virtue or good character, but on wealth, titles, and connections. Vanity Fair takes its title from a place featured in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, which in turn alludes to the famous biblical lines from Ecclesiastes that all is vanity. Although society might value wealth, rank, and political connections, the book shows it is all fleeting vanity, all of it worthless, and full of illusions and lies.
For all Becky Sharp’s character flaws as a manipulative schemer who will lie in a heartbeat if it is to her advantage, the book makes clear that society judged her right from the start based on her low birth, poverty, and the disreputable professions of her parents. The past both motivates her to desire to rise into high society and gives her the tools that she needs to climb up the social ladder. At the beginning of the novel Miss Pinkerton clearly treats Becky Sharp differently than Amelia as she prepares to send them off into the world, despite Becky’s evident talents in comparison to Amelia. Although Amelia has something that the amoral Becky lacks: a kind-heart.
For all her lying, Becky provides one of the most powerful and honest moments of the books when she shatters Amelia’s illusions about George as some sort of idealized angel who she would be betraying if she pursued a relationship with Dobbin.
In countless ways, we witness how wealth, rank, and other vanities of this world corrupt people. Old Osborne abandons his former friend, John Sedley (Amelia’s father) the minute he loses his fortune after Sedley’s speculations fail due to the Napoleonic Wars. He even abandons his own son, when George disobeys him about marrying Amelia after her family is impoverished. He is willing to sacrifice his relationships out of spite over hurt pride and George shattering his ambitions about acquiring more money through a different marriage he commands him to pursue.
Another minor character demonstrates the vanity of worldly pursuit. Sir Pitt Crawley spends his time in parliament hoping to become a major name in politics and possibly gain a peerage only to lose his parliamentary seat in the end. All that time spent only for all that effort and ambition to be worthless in the end.
In Vanity Fair, it is not only wealth and rank that matters, but reputation and appearance. As the novel shows through many characters, many of the rich and nobles are not virtuous or good people. Amelia’s brother Jos likes to tell all sorts of made-up stories about his adventures and bravery at the Battle of Waterloo and hunting tigers in Indian to improve his reputation in society, but in reality he is coward. Lord Steyne may be one of the highest ranking peers, extremely rich, and have direct connections to the royal court, but the man is not virtuous. He clearly is trying to use his riches and influence to be able to sleep with Becky, then uses his influence to ruin her reputation in society, and later on when they briefly encounter her threatens to have her murdered all while seemingly seducing a different married woman. Becky’s downfall comes when she is caught alone with Lord Steyne by her husband Rawdon Crawley with the implication that she has been having an affair with the great lord. The novel ultimately leaves whether they actually slept together ambiguous. Becky denies it, but also demonstrates in numerous ways throughout the book that she is a liar and will do anything to protect her own interests. At the same time, the society that disowns her is also full of liars who will use gossip and innuendo to save face and protect their interest. The novel does a great job at leaving it ambiguous enough that the reader cannot tell definitively one way or the other.
Major Dobbin, best friend to George and secret lover of Amelia, is the moral center of the novel. He is a genuinely good, affectionate, and caring person who often puts the needs of others before his own out of genuine sentiment. He represents virtue and often advises many of the characters such as George on correcting their vices. He is everything vanity fair is not. He wants genuine affection and sincerity, he avoids vices like gambling, and displays sober judgement with little consideration for appearances. However, it is through his genuineness and virtuous qualities that he gains a reputation anyway. It is through Dobbin that the reader understands that a reputation based on virtue and love for others is superior to the illusionary reputation of wealth, rank, and connections.
The book satires English and London upper-class and middle-class society as representing a new Vanity Fair, a place where your social status depends not on important things like personal qualities or virtue or good character, but on wealth, titles, and connections. Vanity Fair takes its title from a place featured in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, which in turn alludes to the famous biblical lines from Ecclesiastes that all is vanity. Although society might value wealth, rank, and political connections, the book shows it is all fleeting vanity, all of it worthless, and full of illusions and lies.
For all Becky Sharp’s character flaws as a manipulative schemer who will lie in a heartbeat if it is to her advantage, the book makes clear that society judged her right from the start based on her low birth, poverty, and the disreputable professions of her parents. The past both motivates her to desire to rise into high society and gives her the tools that she needs to climb up the social ladder. At the beginning of the novel Miss Pinkerton clearly treats Becky Sharp differently than Amelia as she prepares to send them off into the world, despite Becky’s evident talents in comparison to Amelia. Although Amelia has something that the amoral Becky lacks: a kind-heart.
For all her lying, Becky provides one of the most powerful and honest moments of the books when she shatters Amelia’s illusions about George as some sort of idealized angel who she would be betraying if she pursued a relationship with Dobbin.
In countless ways, we witness how wealth, rank, and other vanities of this world corrupt people. Old Osborne abandons his former friend, John Sedley (Amelia’s father) the minute he loses his fortune after Sedley’s speculations fail due to the Napoleonic Wars. He even abandons his own son, when George disobeys him about marrying Amelia after her family is impoverished. He is willing to sacrifice his relationships out of spite over hurt pride and George shattering his ambitions about acquiring more money through a different marriage he commands him to pursue.
Another minor character demonstrates the vanity of worldly pursuit. Sir Pitt Crawley spends his time in parliament hoping to become a major name in politics and possibly gain a peerage only to lose his parliamentary seat in the end. All that time spent only for all that effort and ambition to be worthless in the end.
In Vanity Fair, it is not only wealth and rank that matters, but reputation and appearance. As the novel shows through many characters, many of the rich and nobles are not virtuous or good people. Amelia’s brother Jos likes to tell all sorts of made-up stories about his adventures and bravery at the Battle of Waterloo and hunting tigers in Indian to improve his reputation in society, but in reality he is coward. Lord Steyne may be one of the highest ranking peers, extremely rich, and have direct connections to the royal court, but the man is not virtuous. He clearly is trying to use his riches and influence to be able to sleep with Becky, then uses his influence to ruin her reputation in society, and later on when they briefly encounter her threatens to have her murdered all while seemingly seducing a different married woman. Becky’s downfall comes when she is caught alone with Lord Steyne by her husband Rawdon Crawley with the implication that she has been having an affair with the great lord. The novel ultimately leaves whether they actually slept together ambiguous. Becky denies it, but also demonstrates in numerous ways throughout the book that she is a liar and will do anything to protect her own interests. At the same time, the society that disowns her is also full of liars who will use gossip and innuendo to save face and protect their interest. The novel does a great job at leaving it ambiguous enough that the reader cannot tell definitively one way or the other.
Major Dobbin, best friend to George and secret lover of Amelia, is the moral center of the novel. He is a genuinely good, affectionate, and caring person who often puts the needs of others before his own out of genuine sentiment. He represents virtue and often advises many of the characters such as George on correcting their vices. He is everything vanity fair is not. He wants genuine affection and sincerity, he avoids vices like gambling, and displays sober judgement with little consideration for appearances. However, it is through his genuineness and virtuous qualities that he gains a reputation anyway. It is through Dobbin that the reader understands that a reputation based on virtue and love for others is superior to the illusionary reputation of wealth, rank, and connections.
It was a monster of a book excruciatingly hard to get through. The author digressed so much but he was so droll and sarcastic and funny. I loved Becky Sharp and hated Emmy Sedley in equal measure. It was mostly a five stars excepting the amount the author droned about.
His comments on the corruption of debt and that someone has to pay, usually the lowest person, is as true today.
I enjoyed following the lives of of the people he chose, although Becky was not as interesting as Amelia. I think most of my enjoyment was because it was an audio book. Reading long classics like this one is just easier if listened to.
I enjoyed following the lives of of the people he chose, although Becky was not as interesting as Amelia. I think most of my enjoyment was because it was an audio book. Reading long classics like this one is just easier if listened to.
medium-paced
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism, Pregnancy
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm trying once again to read this through- I think I know the first 100 pages by heart! I always enjoy it; I don't know why I can't stick to it.
Being from a family that regularly donates and obsesses over every Masterpiece Theater, I grew up with the 1980s BBC mini-series version of this story. As I got older, I adapted to the Reese Witherspoon version (even though she wasn't the best fit for the role) and fell head over heels for the recent 2018 version. You may wonder why I'm starting a book review with a love of the adaptations. Really, I'm stalling. I'm ashamed. I liked all of these adaptations more than the book. Don't judge me!!
Far and away my favorite part of the book, which is missing from the film versions, is Thackeray's wonderful breaking of the 4th wall. He's cheeky, fun and I loved listening to his cutting opinions of all of his characters. However, the writing of the story felt a little too detailed. Do I need a description of every minuscule thing?? No. No, I do not. The story itself is fun and easy, the characters are intriguing, but a lot of the book is a real slog to get through. It got to the point where I felt like finishing the book was a chore.
Becky Sharpe, our heroine, is a literary gem! She's positioned in her society as the "villain", but in the novel you can't help but rooting for her cunning ways to secure a well-off man. It's 19th century England, there isn't much else a woman can strive for and Becky makes no apologies for her situation or her goals.
While I gave it 3 stars and I did struggle, the overall story and Becky are so strong that I can't discourage anyone from picking up this book. That said, the 2018 mini-series is available on Amazon Prime and I can 100% recommend that any day of the week.
Far and away my favorite part of the book, which is missing from the film versions, is Thackeray's wonderful breaking of the 4th wall. He's cheeky, fun and I loved listening to his cutting opinions of all of his characters. However, the writing of the story felt a little too detailed. Do I need a description of every minuscule thing?? No. No, I do not. The story itself is fun and easy, the characters are intriguing, but a lot of the book is a real slog to get through. It got to the point where I felt like finishing the book was a chore.
Becky Sharpe, our heroine, is a literary gem! She's positioned in her society as the "villain", but in the novel you can't help but rooting for her cunning ways to secure a well-off man. It's 19th century England, there isn't much else a woman can strive for and Becky makes no apologies for her situation or her goals.
While I gave it 3 stars and I did struggle, the overall story and Becky are so strong that I can't discourage anyone from picking up this book. That said, the 2018 mini-series is available on Amazon Prime and I can 100% recommend that any day of the week.
DNF
I thought this was a good challenge for me, in regard to a classic I’d never read before. Nope - didn’t pan out. This was way too wordy for the story it was actually telling. I’m sure it would’ve been better as the original monthly serials with illustrations when it was first published.
I thought this was a good challenge for me, in regard to a classic I’d never read before. Nope - didn’t pan out. This was way too wordy for the story it was actually telling. I’m sure it would’ve been better as the original monthly serials with illustrations when it was first published.