Vanity Fair (a novel without a hero) was a great surprise for me. Published in 1848, it is an epic story of two women who are introduced to us in the first chapter as they leave Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies. Amelia - fair and genteel, and her friend the artful and sly Rebecca.
Thackery relates their fortunes and misfortunes with great wit and satire, from courtship to marriage, through the battle of Waterloo, parenthood, middle age and a reversal of fortunes for both Rebecca and Amelia.
Rebecca and her husband Rawdon teach us how to live well on nothing a year, and the gambling, and credit debt is definitely relevant to our current climate. Rebecca’s character would work well in any modern novel, she manipulates men with ease but the Society women can see right through her in an instant. This anti-heroine is cunning and conniving, however you can’t help but admire her as much as the author does! A very enjoyable read.
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