Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero, Volume 1

William Makepeace Thackeray

Jan 1853 · Smith, Elder, & Company

Ratings and reviews

I love Jane Austen but I find this book superior to any of hers. The characters in Vanity Fair are much more realistic than Austen's and Thackery has little of Austen's gentility in how he writes of them. Austen makes her characters feel anguish; Thackery makes his truly suffer. As much as I enjoy and empathize with Austen's characters, the people in Vanity Fair break my heart. Austen's stories take place in a genteel world. Vanity Fair takes place in the real world. Thackery is certainly a quirkier writer than Austen or Dickens, but this is still one hell of a good book.

Effing loved it. To the people complaining about 'long descriptions' or whatever, this was published in 1847, a time without tv. So this was the style you morons. They liked to heavily describe everything, and take their time, even if it took pages and pages. If you can't stand a long read this isn't for you, but I loved it. Kept my interest.

This book presents an interesting contrast to such as Pride & Prejudice and other Regency-era fictions in showing the darker side of that time and place. Descriptions are sometimes tedious and some characters are too flat and unrealistic, but I'd still recommend it to historical fiction fans.