Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray
67 chapters · 32 h 21 min · English
Read by Michelle Crandall, Wendy G., Stacey Ford Osborne, Graham Williams, Betsie Bush, Guntar and others
Satire
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Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray that satirizes society in early 19th-century England. Like many novels of the time, Vanity Fair was published as a serial before being sold in book form; it was printed in 20 monthly parts between January 1847 and July 1848.
Thackeray meant the book to be not only entertaining but also instructive; this is shown both by the narrator of the book and in Thackeray's private correspondence. The novel is now remembered as a classic of English literature, though some critics claim that it has structural problems; Thackeray sometimes lost track of the huge scope of his work, mixing up characters' names and minor plot details. The number of allusions and references it contains can make it difficult for modern readers to follow.
Chapters
1 Chiswick Mall 18 min 2 In Which Miss Sharp and Miss Sedley Prepare to Open the Campaign 23 min 3 Rebecca is in Presence of the Enemy 18 min 4 The Green Silk Purse 32 min 5 Dobbin of Ours 27 min 6 Vauxhall 31 min 7 Crawley of Queen's Crawley 19 min 8 Private and Confidential 30 min 9 Family Portraits 23 min 10 Miss Sharp Begins To Make Friends 19 min 11 Arcadian Simplicity 40 min 12 Quite a Sentimental Chapter 24 min 13 Sentimental and Otherwise 29 min 14 Miss Crawley at Home 45 min 15 In Which Rebecca's Husband Appears for a Short Time 22 min 16 The Letter on the Pincushion 12 min 17 How Captain Dobbin Bought a Piano 21 min 18 Who Played on the Piano Captain Dobbin Bought 32 min 19 Miss Crawley at Nurse 27 min 20 In Which Captain Dobbin Acts as the Messenger of Hymen 26 min 21 A Quarrel About an Heiress 26 min 22 A Marriage and Part of a Honeymoon 25 min 23 Captain Dobbin Proceeds on His Canvass 17 min 24 In Which Mr. Osborne Takes Down the Family Bible 36 min 25 In Which All the Principal Personages Think Fit to Leave Brighton 52 min 26 Between London and Chatham 21 min 27 In Which Amelia Joins Her Regiment 18 min 28 In Which Amelia Invades the Low Countries 25 min 29 Brussels 39 min 30 The Girl I Left Behind Me 27 min 31 In Which Jos Sedley Takes Care of His Sister 34 min 32 In Which Jos Takes Flight, and the War Is Brought to a Close 14 min 33 In Which Miss Crawley's Relations Are Very Anxious About Her 22 min 34 James Crawley's Pipe is Put Out 36 min 35 Widow and Mother 34 min 36 How to Live Well on Nothing a Year 25 min 37 The Subject Continued 49 min 38 A Family in a Very Small Way 35 min 39 A Cynical Chapter 22 min 40 In Which Becky Is Recognized by the Family 22 min 41 In Which Becky Revisits the Halls of Her Ancestors 30 min 42 Which Treats of the Osborne Family 20 min 43 In Which the Reader has to Double the Cape 26 min 44 A Round-about Chapter between London and Hampshire 28 min 45 Between Hampshire and London 27 min 46 Struggles and Trials 24 min 47 Gaunt House 26 min 48 In Which the Reader Is Introduced to the Very Best of Company 31 min 49 In Which we Enjoy Three Courses and a Desert 20 min 50 Contains a Vulgar Incident 26 min 51 In Which a Charade Is Acted Which May or May Not Puzzle the Reader 59 min 52 In Which Lord Steyne Shows Himself In A Most Amiable Light 31 min 53 A Rescue And A Catastrophe 28 min 54 Sunday After the Battle 30 min 55 In Which the Same Subject is Pursued 40 min 56 Georgy is Made a Gentleman 30 min 57 Eothen 21 min 58 Our Friend the Major 28 min 59 The Old Piano 28 min 60 Returns to the Genteel World 16 min 61 In Which Two Lights Are Put Out 38 min 62 Am Rhein 28 min 63 In Which We Meet An Old Acquaintance 33 min 64 A Vagabond Chapter 49 min 65 Full of Business and Pleasure 23 min 66 Amantium Irae 45 min 67 Which Contains Births, Marriages, and Deaths 59 min