Thackeray's upper-class Regency world is a noisy and jostling commercial fairground, predominantly driven by acquisitive greed and soulless materialism, in which the narrator himself plays a brilliantly versatile role as a serio-comic observer. It follows the lives of Becky Sharpe and Amelia Sedley amid their friends and families during and after the Napoleonic Wars. It is a satire of early 19th-century British society. The serial was a popular and critical success; the novel is now considered a classic and has inspired several audio and film adaptations. Although it is a long book, it is fast paced and easy to read—a page turner. Book: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1847). Wordsworth Classics Paperback (1998) ISBN 978- 1853260193. approx. $8. Please note that this S/DG is for 9 weeks.
