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    Vanity Fair
    Vanity Fair
    Vanity Fair
    Ebook1,068 pages18 hours

    Vanity Fair

    By William Makepeace Thackeray

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    First published serially from 1847 to 1848, “Vanity Fair” is William Makepeace Thackeray’s most famous work in which the author reflects his interest in deconstructing the notions of literary heroism of his era. It is the story of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, who have just completed their studies at Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies and are beginning to embark upon the world. The simple-minded nature of Amelia, who comes from a wealthy family, is contrasted with the strong-willed nature of Becky, who will stop at nothing to climb the social ranks of English society. The novel takes its name from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most famous work of Thackeray’s day, in which a town called Vanity is depicted to represent man’s sinful attachment to worldly things. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, “Vanity Fair” is Thackeray’s classic satire of the societal trappings of Victorian England, self described as a novel without a hero. This edition includes an introduction by John Edwin Wells and a biographical afterword.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateSep 21, 2020
    ISBN9781420977752
    Author

    William Makepeace Thackeray

    William Makepeace Thackeray was born in Calcutta in 1811. He was sent to England in 1817 and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Following a period of gambling, unsuccessful investments and a brief career as a lawyer, he turned to writing and drawing. In 1836 he married Isabella Shawe; following the birth of their second daughter, her mental health deteriorated and she had to be permanently supervised by a private nurse. Thackeray's first novel, Catherine, was published in 1839-40. Following the success of Vanity Fair (1847-8) he was able to devote himself to fiction, and his other notable works include Pendennis (1849), The History of Henry Esmond (1852) and The Newcomes (1855). He also edited the commercially successful Cornhill Magazine, which published writers such as Tennyson, George Eliot and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Thackeray died suddenly on Christmas Eve, 1863.

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