Vanity Fair

by William Makepeace Thackeray

"Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray is a novel published serially from 1847 to 1848. Set during and after the Napoleonic Wars, it follows two contrasting women: the cunning, ambitious Becky Sharp, who schemes her way through society despite having no money, and the gentle, wealthy Amelia Sedley. Subtitled "A Novel without a Hero," this satirical work deconstructs traditional ideas of heroism while exposing the vanities and pretensions of early 19th-century British society through an unreliable narrator who frames the story as a puppet show.