Vanity Fair Audiobook By William Makepeace Thackeray cover art

Vanity Fair

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A panoramic satire of English society during the Napoleonic Wars, Vanity Fair is William Makepeace Thackeray’s masterpiece. At its center is one of the most unforgettable characters in nineteenth-century literature: the enthralling Becky Sharp, a charmingly ruthless social climber who is determined to leave behind her humble origins, no matter the cost. Her more gentle friend Amelia, by contrast, only cares for Captain George Osborne, despite his selfishness and her family’s disapproval. As both women move within the flamboyant milieu of Regency England, the political turmoil of the era is matched by the scheming Becky’s sensational rise—and its unforeseen aftermath.

Based in part upon Thackeray’s own love for the wife of a friend, Vanity Fair portrays the hypocrisy and corruption of high society and the dangers of unrestrained ambition with epic brilliance and scathing wit. With an introduction by Catherine Peters.

 Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic reviews

"I do not say there is no character as well drawn in Shakespeare [as D'Artagnan]. I do say there is none that I love so wholly."
--Robert Louis Stevenson

"The lasting and universal popularity of The Three Musketeers shows that Dumas, by artlessly expressing his own nature in the persons of his heroes, was responding to that craving for action, strength and generosity which is a fact in all periods and all places."
--Andreé Maurois
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This is a fantastic book, and I am so glad to be able to replace my 24-cassette version with a download! I didn't download it before because the quality was poor (#2).. I think Audible must have upgraded it. The previous reviewer should contact Audible and try to get a new download.

This book proves that people have not changed in a hundred years. It is a satire on social climbing. The only comparable book, one I hope Audible will buy, is The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope.

Improved quality recording?

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The first time I tried to listen to this, I just couldn't do it. But I had been told it was a classic, so I gave it another shot, and this time I picked up on the irony -- that Becky Sharp, the one everyone pities and scorns, is really the finest person in the story -- and that is the quality that makes it a classic. The reading is good and unobtrusive, letting this "novel without a hero" make its acute social observations through Thackeray's opinionated narration.

Second time was the charm

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I'm only writing this because I was initially put off buying this production by Simonal's review saying the production quality was poor, and I notice many customers are still finding his comment useful. There are some of bad recordings out there (e.g. Short Stories of Katherine Anne Porter) and they are no fun but I found this reading flawless. It is a worthy production of one of the great novels in the English language.

Fine recording of brilliant novel

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Jill Masters' main narration is steady, and although her characterizations are a little halting and undifferentiated, I enjoyed her voice and performance much more than Fredrick Davidson's in the other audiobook option.

The sound quality is only medium.

Jill Masters

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The narrator: very talented with her array of accents. The sound quality: GOOD (not perfect), the only thing is one can discern the volume and background static which changes levels periodically, presumably from when a master tape ended and another began during the digital conversion process. The clarity and speech is excellent. The plot: classic. Imagine what might happen if Gone with the Wind was written by Jane Austen - with certainly a twist in the ending. Book vs. Movie: The two are certainly different, the movie leaving out major plots of the book, and rewriting the ending. The movie misses the intention of Thackeray's book, read the book to get the author's point of the story.

Georgian England's Gone With the Wind

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