Set in Victorian London Vanity Fair takes us into the old world where money and family ties were of the utmost importance. William Thackeray set about showing the reader into the world of 19th century Britain when greed and hypocrisy were at their highest which he did in much detail.
The wonderful characters of this book include the witty sly dangerous Becky Sharp, the wonderfully genteel Amelia, her some what cowardly brother Jos, the great George Osbourne and the wonderfully romantic Captain William Dobbin.
You cannot help but hate Rebecca Sharp and her cunning ways to carve her way into a life of fortune. But with every lie comes a price and just as she has reached the station she has spent years trying to come to her little life falls apart around her.
The story is hard to follow as there are many twists and turns. At points I felt maybe the author could not make up his mind with what course he wanted his characters to take.
This book is of course extremely well written and wonderful for a book of its time it has been compared to sex and the city and I do admire Becky Sharp for being such a strong woman in a time where women were preferred to be seen and not heard.It is all about the fashion and who you are seen with not to mention the family from which you come.
Women are portrayed to be the weaker sex that they were thought to be at that time and the men set about gambling and cheating on the little wife at home who spent her hours worrying about the welfare of her husband.
I found it quite difficult to keep my concentration in this book and I have to say only really enjoyed the last few chapters when everyone seemed to get exactly what they deserved. I am dyslexic and find it hard to read classics at the best of times but this one proved to be even more impossible as it didn't hold my attention enough to make me want to go to bed early to read it. I found myself just wanting it to be over so I could move onto another book.
Many men to this day love a woman who has the qualities of Becky Sharp and admire the ways in which these women get to where they want to go. For me honesty and loyalty are the two most important qualities a person can have which is probably why I didn't like her that much.
Unlike other classics I have read this is unfortunately not one I will be taking down from my book shelf for a second dose!