Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. Short summary

5 seconds

Rebecca Sharp, a poor orphan, does her best to climb the hierarchical ladder. She doesn’t shy away from various methods, but in the end she sinks and becomes an outcast.

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Orphan Rebecca Sharpe graduated from boarding school with Emily Sedley, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Taking advantage of an invitation to visit, the calculating Becky began seducing Emily’s brother, Joseph. But Emily’s fiancé, George Osborne, did not wish to be related to a beggar.

Rebecca began to work as a governess for an old man Crawley. There she quickly rubbed off on both her master and his youngest son, Rodon. To the latter she marries in secret. Aunt Matilda crosses Rodon out of her will.

Emily and Rebecca and their husbands meet at a resort. Rebecca seduces her friend’s spouse, but then the men are called to war. George Osborne dies and Emily raises her son alone. Rebecca also gives birth to a son, but she is not interested in the child — her ambition is to achieve a position in society.

Rodon is imprisoned in debt, but his wife does not redeem him. She has seduced Joseph Sedley and is Sir Stein’s concubine. Her adventures become public knowledge and she is no longer accepted. Her grown son doesn’t want to see her, and neither does Emily’s friend.