Vanity Fair (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback)

The plot of the novel is extremely epic, spanning something like twenty years in the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, two friends who leave a finishing school together. Amelia comes from a rich merchant's family, is sweet, good-natured and kind but not very worldly, and is engaged to George Osborne, a family friend whom she idolises. Becky is the daughter of a penniless, drunken artist who is now dead - but even though Becky has no money, she is rich in wit, cunning and manipulative skills. At first she tries to seduce Joseph Sedley, Amelia's stupid but wealthy brother - and she would have gotten away with it, too, if it werent for that darn bowl of punch. After failing to land Jos, Becky becomes governess for Sir Pitt Crawley, a half-crazy baronet in the Hampshire countryside. Becky marries his lad-about-town son Rawdon in secret, which enrages Sir Pitt's exceedingly rich sister Miss Crawley, who disowns Rawdon. Meanwhile Amelia's father has gone bankrupt; subsequently, George Osborne's father, forbids George from marrying her - but George's best friend Dobbin, who is in love with Amelia, arranges the marriage and George's dad disowns them. George, Rawdon and Dobbin then all head off to the battle of Waterloo with Amelia and Becky in tow. In Brussels Becky is the centre of attention because of her charming wit - George, who never cared much about Amelia anyway, asks Becky to run away with him, but before he gets the chance, he is shot and killed at the battle of Waterloo, leaving Amelia as a single mother when she returns to England. Becky and Rawdon return home via Paris where they run up huge debts; in London, Becky's charm and cunning enables them to live like superstars on no money whatsoever and Becky reaches the height of society - but Rawdon feels left out and when he discovers that Becky is having an affair with Lord Steyne, he leaves her. The subsequent scandal sees Becky cast out from society. Meanwhile George Osborne's father pays Amelia to let her son Georgy live with him - this breaks Amelia's heart but she has no choice. Eventually Osborne Sr dies, Dobbin returns from India as does Jos Sedley, and Amelia is rich again and gets Georgy back - but she is still too obsessed with her late husband to marry Dobbin, who loves her passionately. On a holiday to Germany, the family meets a destitute Becky, who tells Amelia about her and George's affair; now Amelia is free to marry Dobbin, even though by now his love for her is a shadow of what it once was. Becky seduces Jos again and not long after, he dies, leaving her lots of money - its implied she killed him.

The novel is quite long and very complicated - sometimes you get the feeling that Thackeray is having trouble structuring it. However it excels in humor, being a perfect satire that never goes too far and becomes a spoof. My favourite parts were: the description of the events surrounding the Battle of Waterloo, which are written in a very epic and dynamic manner by the author; the character of Becky Sharp, and the scene, where, having been found out by her husband Rawdon, she is found by her maid sitting on the bed, staring into space; and the spot-on social commentary of Regency England.

This book may not be as famous as some other 19th century novels but trust me, if you fail to read this, you're missing out big style.