Vanity Fair  (1848)

By William Makepeace Thackeray

965pp, Fiction

Notes

2022-03-24

On the recommendation of Stef, at our work summer drinks a couple years back, I read Vanity Fair. It’s taken me a while (started back in December) and I enjoyed it, but it’s not one of those books that I’d wholeheartedly recommend to a modern reader; there are long passages comprising veiled caricatures of people of whom you’ve never heard, you’re never very far away from some casual racism and Thackeray is, if not any more sexist than your average mid 19th century Londoner, not particularly capable when it comes to dealing with female characters. This is ironic as the book revolves around Becky Sharp who’s an all time great character. I had thought of reading the book over the course of a couple of years, mimicking the original production schedule I might do that with some Charles Dickens at some point. But anyway, having read a reasonable amount now I’m beginning to figure out where my tastes lie in terms of 19th century literature – short version I like more of the social realism side of things. I feel like I might quite like Thomas Hardy who’s Mayor of Casterbridge I hated and failed to finish as a GCSE English studying teen.