The plot in six lines
Amelia Sedley and Becky Sharp leave school together, and Becky stays with Amelia's family, where her attempt to attract the wealthy Jos Sedley fails.
Becky becomes a governess at Queen's Crawley and secretly marries Rawdon Crawley, but their marriage costs him his aunt's favour and expected fortune.
Amelia's family loses its money, George Osborne's father forbids their marriage, and the approaching war brings the characters together in Brussels before Waterloo.
After Waterloo, Amelia struggles and clings to her love for George, while Dobbin quietly supports her and Becky gains influence in London through Lord Steyne.
Becky's fashionable life rests on credit and unpaid bills, and her rise eventually ends in a scandal that drives her from English society to Europe.
Amelia finally sees George and Dobbin clearly and marries Dobbin, while Becky regains respectability behind charitable activity and the narrator puts his puppets away.
Themes
Social ambition: Becky's pursuit of wealth and rank exposes a society where marriages, friendships and reputations become things to trade.
Money and worth: The Sedley family's financial collapse shows how quickly social respect disappears when people lose their wealth.
Hypocrisy: Characters condemn Becky's background while accepting her hospitality and favours, revealing the gap between their principles and their behaviour.
Love and loyalty: Dobbin's patient care contrasts with George's carelessness, while Rawdon's tenderness towards his son complicates his reckless character.
Moral judgement: The narrator's irony and the characters' mixed qualities ask readers to weigh sympathy against the harm people cause.
Characters
- Becky SharpA poor, clever orphan who has learned to charm and calculate, and who wants money, rank and comfort above all.
- Amelia SedleyA kind, trusting merchant's daughter who gives her whole heart to George Osborne and believes the best of everyone.
- William DobbinAn awkward, loyal army officer and grocer's son who quietly loves Amelia and stands by his friends without asking for reward.
- George Osborne
- Rawdon CrawleyA dashing, debt-ridden dragoon captain who falls for Becky and hopes to inherit his aunt's fortune.
- Jos SedleyAmelia's stout, vain brother, a tax collector from India who boasts of adventures and is nervous around women.
For the A level coursework
- AQA (Literature A): recommended text for the A level non-exam assessment (coursework).
From the boards' own documents (the specifications and coursework guidance listed under Sources), read on 24 October 2026. Your school chooses the coursework texts: ask your teacher before you start.
Questions
What is Vanity Fair about?
Vanity Fair is about two women pursuing different hopes in a society governed by money, rank and reputation. Their contrasting lives allow Thackeray to question whether cleverness or goodness brings happiness.
Who are the main characters in Vanity Fair?
The main characters are Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, whose contrasting personalities connect the novel's stories. George Osborne and William Dobbin shape Amelia's life, while Rawdon Crawley and Lord Steyne become central to Becky's ambitions.
What are the main themes of Vanity Fair?
The main themes are social ambition, money, hypocrisy, love and moral judgement. Thackeray explores them through people whose kindness, selfishness and loyalty resist simple divisions into good and bad.
Which boards mention Vanity Fair for A level English Literature?
AQA (Literature A): recommended text for the A level non-exam assessment (coursework). Your school chooses the coursework texts, so ask your teacher before you start.