Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was a prominent 19th-century English novelist best known for his satirical works, critiquing the societal norms and values of Victorian England. Born on July 18, 1811, in Calcutta, India (current Kolkata, India), Thackeray was the son of Richmond Thackeray, a high-ranking official in the East India Company. However, Thackeray’s father died when he was only five years old, prompting his mother to send him to England for his education.

Thackeray attended several prestigious schools, including Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge, but he did not complete a degree. Thackeray’s early life experiences, including his exposure to the stark class distinctions and social injustices of both India and England, laid the foundation for his later use of satire in his literary works.

Thackeray’s satirical style was characterized by a combination of wit, humor, and keen observation of society. He often used the omniscient narrator to directly address the reader, creating an intimate connection and a sense of shared complicity in the satire. Vanity Fair, Thackeray’s magnum opus, exposes the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of the upper classes in Victorian society, taking satirical aim at the superficiality, materialism, and social climbing.