Vanity Fair

We are in for a treat. In her introduction to my copy of “Vanity Fair" (Modern Library Classics), Joanna Trollope calls it “a work of huge originality. There is no question but that this novel is not only Thackery’s greatest achievement, but also one of the great novels of the nineteenth century. The scope, the wit, the pace, the effect are as fresh today as when Thackery finished writing it over 150 years ago. And the thing about it that is so peculiarly remarkable is that while it is throughout a completely compelling read, it also has little quiet moments of being an acutely uncomfortable one. It has relevance — totally undoctrinaire — that exceeds the period and the setting and the people. Vanity Fair is truly a tale for all times. And all people.”