Close Readings

Novel Approaches: 'Vanity Fair' by William Makepeace Thackeray

Apr 21, 2025

Colin Burrow, a Fellow at All Souls College, and Rosemary Hill, a contributing editor at the LRB, delve into Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair.' They explore the novel's intricate satire of Regency England through the lens of fashion, personal ambitions, and social climbing. The guests discuss the complexities of characters like Becky Sharp and consider the significance of the Battle of Waterloo in shaping the narrative. Their conversation unveils how Thackeray's childhood experiences influenced his depiction of fractured families and societal shifts.

32:52

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Episode guests

Rosemary Hill

Colin Burrow

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Thackeray's personal experiences with loss and flawed relationships deeply inform the character dynamics and themes in Vanity Fair.

The novel serves as a critical lens on the Regency era, blending satire and nostalgia to highlight societal norms and human vanity.

Deep dives

Thackeray's Life and His Influence on Vanity Fair

William Makepeace Thackeray's life significantly shaped his writing in Vanity Fair, revealing themes of loss, gambling, and flawed relationships. Born in Calcutta and later experiencing a troubled childhood, his feelings of abandonment surface in the novel, reflected in characters like George Osborne and Amelia Sedley. Thackeray's own experiences with gambling and tumultuous marriages provide a backdrop to the disastrous union between Amelia and George, exposing the harsh realities of the Regency era. Notably, his career as a journalist and sketch writer informs the narrative style of Vanity Fair, blending humor with poignant social critique.

Intro

2min

Exploring Thackeray: Life and Legacy Behind 'Vanity Fair'

5min

The Satirical Lens of Vanity Fair

18min

Transactional Love and Hidden Perceptions

2min

Becky Sharp's Arrival at the Gloomy Manor

6min

Thackeray's comic masterpiece, Vanity Fair, is a Victorian novel looking back to Regency England as an object both of satire and nostalgia. Thackeray’s disdain for the Regency is present throughout the book, not least in the proliferation of hapless characters called George, yet he also draws heavily on his childhood experiences to unfold a complex story of fractured families, bad marriages and the tyranny of debt. In this episode, Colin Burrow and Rosemary Hill join Tom to discuss Thackeray’s use of clothes, curry and the rapidly changing topography of London to construct a turbulent society full of peril and opportunity for his heroine, Becky Sharp, and consider why the Battle of Waterloo was such a recurrent preoccupation in literature of the period.

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