Thackeray, William Makepeace  
  
  
    A panoramic satire of English society during the Napoleonic Wars
 Vanity Fair is William Makepeace Thackeray's masterpiece. At its center is one of the most unforgettable characters in nineteenth-century literature: the enthralling Becky Sharp
 a charmingly ruthless social climber who is determined to leave behind her humble origins
 no matter the cost.