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Vanity Fair
- Narrated by: John Castle
- Length: 31 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Summary
Exclusively from Audible
Set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this classic gives a satirical picture of a worldly society. The audiobook revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp who craves wealth and a position in society. Calculating and determined to succeed, she charms, deceives and manipulates everyone she meets.
A story of early 19th-century English society, it takes its title from the place designated as the centre of human corruption in John Bunyan's 17th-century allegory Pilgrim's Progress.
Receiving popular and critical success on first publication, the novel is considered Thackeray's masterpiece, and this satire of society is as relevant now as when it first appeared. In 2003, Vanity Fair was listed at Number 122 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's best-loved books.
Thackeray was born in Calcutta in 1811. After his father's death, he was sent to be educated in England at five years old, while is mother remarried in India. The canings and abuses he received in private boarding schools formed a basis for some of his work as did the culture of Anglo-Indians which also featured prominently.
Narrator Biography
After training at RADA, John's professional career began in 1964 at the Regent's Park Theatre.
Film credits include Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow Up, The Lion in Winter, Man of La Mancha, King David, Antony and Cleopatra, Robocop 2 and The Sparrow. Theatre credits include Bloody Sunday (The Tricycle Theatre), Claudius in Hamlet (National Theatre), Rat in the Skull (Duke of York's Theatre), End Game (Tron Theatre, Glasgow), Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (London Shakespeare Group), Infidelities (The Boulevard Theatre), and Breaking the Code (The Comedy Theatre). Television credits include Tracate Middoth, The Fixer, Spooks, Poirot, Silent Witness, The Holocaust on Trial, Casualty, Princes in the Tower, Gods and Generals, Fight Against Slavery, Ben Hall, I, Claudius, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and Lillie.
More from the same
Narrator
What listeners say about Vanity Fair
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Clare
- 24-08-09
A glorious romp of a novel!
This may be an alarmingly big book, but this audio version is read with consummate skill, lashings of irony and knowing narratorial commentary delivered beautifully by the reader, and it flies by like a novel a fifth of its size.
Peopled with historical characters and situations, such as the battle of Waterloo, Thackeray almost fools his reader into believing this novel to be biography. But then his narrator is unable to resist clever asides and witty commentary, reminding us of the author's skill as a novelist and his presence. The narrator is unwilling to forgive any vanity or flaw however slight, and although Thackeray's subtitle announces that there is no hero, the colour and life breathed into his characters and the balance with which he portrays them makes it hard not to relate to them, and to love or loathe them with as great enthusiasm as if they were known to us in our own lives. Tubby Joss with his ridiculous waistcoats, the vile Osborne Snr, kind and loyal Dobbin and indomitable Becky and all of the other characters become part of your life for the few glorious hours in which you inhabit their crazy world.
Tremendously entertaining and easy to listen to, I heartily recommend this audio book to anyone who enjoys a good story well told.
54 people found this helpful
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- Claire
- 11-11-15
As Sharp as Becky
Where does Vanity Fair rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It is a demanding listen and you have to apply a certain dedication to following it as it's very long and covers a lengthy time period, meaning characters and circumstances change at a pace, but I took a lot from it - and, my word, Thackeray was a clever, incisive gent! Written with a relish which resonates today as loudly as any other time, at least it did with me. 'It will make you laugh, it will make you cry', and it will make you highlight favourite passages in your physical/kindle copy!
What other book might you compare Vanity Fair to, and why?
The opening chapters have you thinking it may be another Jane Eyre, but it's nothing of the sort. I'd compare it to Austen, Dickens, even Galsworthy (well, compare Galsworthy to Thackeray, not the other way around): all the great chroniclers of humanity and all its characteristics - depicters of shrewd social climbers navigating their position in society as best they can. I love a good old fashioned saga following the fortunes of many characters over time, and this is an epic.
Which character – as performed by John Castle – was your favourite?
Well you have to love Becky and her usually dispassionate scheming, and hopeless lovesick Dobbin, the novel's moral centre - but I especially enjoyed John Castle's reading of Jos Sedley: great fun. I also liked the way he portrayed Rawdon and his maturation throughout the course of the novel. Very sad ending.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Too much is never enough...
14 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Nejra
- 01-02-11
Absolute pleasure!
This book was well narrated, and very entertaining overall. Once I started listening to it, I couldn't stop. I definitely recommend it!
10 people found this helpful
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- Susie
- 01-07-14
Really enjoyed this book
What made the experience of listening to Vanity Fair [AudioGo] the most enjoyable?
The narrator John Castle was exceptional. I really felt involved in the story and was so wrapped up in it I forgot someone was actually reading it to me, so real we're the characters. I looked forward to each and every chapter.
What other book might you compare Vanity Fair [AudioGo] to, and why?
I enjoyed this book as much as Bleak House, another classic written by a master storyteller
What does John Castle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
John Castle enabled me to feel the characters in more depth than if I had read the book. When reading I get distracted by any spelling mistakes and tend to skip through passages too quickly missing the emphasis placed on a single phrase or a play on words. This audio book opened up a new level of enjoyment for me.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There were several moments in the book which made me smile , not so much about the story line but the observations of the author on his fellow man
Any additional comments?
Worth buying even if you have read the book before. John Castle made it for me and I will be looking for other books narrated by him
7 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Curran
- 02-01-13
excellent reading of an engaging book
I completely agree with other reviewers : you will be surprised how quickly so many hours of this book fly past. They were all tremendously enjoyable! Thank you, John Castle, for so expert a reading which never missed the sense (this in my experience is unusual), and on the contrary brought out all the humour, the drama, and in particular the wit of the book. When I read Vanity Fair many years ago, I was a little daunted by its length and density; listening to such a masterly rendition of it, I relished every chapter and will certainly listen again.
15 people found this helpful
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- Bookfan
- 31-01-17
An Old Favourite
I've read the book several times and seen two different TV adaptations, so clearly, this is a novel I like. This isn't the first time I've listened to this adaptation either. It's very well performed, and I especially commend the reader's mastery of several different accents that bring the characters to life.
4 people found this helpful
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- Cara Moretta
- 07-07-14
Two Intertwined Tales Plus Satirical Commentory
What did you like most about Vanity Fair [AudioGo]?
The interweaving of the two storylines each featuring a main character of very different morals and attitude to life.
What other book might you compare Vanity Fair [AudioGo] to, and why?
Perhaps " Persuasion", as both books portray the experiences and ambitions of two very different female characters.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
Too many to decide between them....a feast of wonderful scenes!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it has been enjoyed over a period of about a month.
Any additional comments?
Highly recommended as a " holiday listen"
4 people found this helpful
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- pterodactyl
- 20-04-17
Long and delightful.
Excellent mordant overview of early nineteenth century society, worth settling in for the long haul. Very well read by John Castle.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- V. Masterman
- 05-12-09
Compulsive Listening
This is a first class narration of a wonderful and absorbing book. I had to make a lengthy car journey recently in dreadful weather conditions and hearing the adventures of the characters of Vanity Fair lessened my frustration and made this difficult journey much easier. Although it is a very long book I would not wish a single word to be omitted so splendid is the characterisation and so skilful the reading. I know that this is one book I will return to again. Thoroughly recommended.
11 people found this helpful
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- Cathubodua
- 08-08-15
Highly entertaining
What made the experience of listening to Vanity Fair the most enjoyable?
Vanity Fair is one of the great Victorian novels, with a huge cast of eccentric characters. John Castle brought them all to life as separate and very memorable entities, including the narrator, who has so much to say on so many subjects.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Vanity Fair?
Jos Sedley at Vauxhall Gardens (and after); the 'little woman's' conquest of Queen's Crawley; Amelia's conquest of Brussels; any scene involving Mrs Major O'Dowd; old Miss Crawley swimming at Brighton; Becky's presentation at court… so many memorable moments!
Which character – as performed by John Castle – was your favourite?
A certain Crawley of the Guards.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
This is a book to savour, to take a couple of chapters at a time and really enjoy being along for (quite a long) ride. Despite the length, it ends too soon.
Any additional comments?
Thackeray on exceptional form.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall

- Anonymous User
- 03-02-11
A book that was meant to be read aloud!
The narrator for this book was born to give us the beauty of the spoken words of Thackeray. There is no better way to follow the escapades of the characters of Vanity Fair!
30 people found this helpful
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- Lauriesland
- 12-02-12
Fun Book, Incredible Narrator
This classic is wonderfully written--insightful and extremely funny and entertaining. If all narrators could be as fabulous as John Castle, how happy I would be. He's a true actor who gives the characters their own voices, and his accents are spot on. I highly recommend this book.
16 people found this helpful
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- James Abraham
- 18-05-13
The Best Narration, One of the Greats
I agree with the reviewer who said that John Castle was born to narrate this book. I don't think his performance can be bettered. I had no idea that Vanity Fair was so good, or that Thackeray was such an interesting writer. It's hard to be in Dicken's shadow, I suppose. This was a great buy.
26 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Alicia Czechowski
- 11-12-10
Becky, the great "bad girl" of English literature
In spite of the slow second half, Vanity Fair's Becky Sharpe still stands as a model for the anti-heroine.
Thackeray is a bit heavy handed in the latter part of the novel where he must have felt compelled to moralize and show a more degenerate side of Becky, done at the expense of sublimating the highly entertaining malice of her behavior. The "nice" folks grow rather boring in contrast to Becky.
But Vanity Fair was a shot heard round the world. Trollope and Mrs. Gaskell were friends and admirers of Thackeray and must have been influenced in some of their character depictions by his portrayal of the charming and ruthless Becky.
10 people found this helpful
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- Jefferson
- 07-03-12
It's All Entertaining Vanity
The characters who populate Thackery's Vanity Fair (1848), set in England and Europe during and after the Napoleonic Wars, are a cast of decadent lords, pious snobs, pedantic teachers, sycophantic schemers, hedonistic spinsters, tyrannical fathers, imperious brats, philandering generals, gambling rakes, gossiping servants, false friends, faithful toadies, and many more. Unlike in Dickens, there is no perfect person. Thackery plays his "puppets" through scenes that are comical, appalling, suspenseful, moving, or revelatory. He keeps us alert, peering through layers of irony. And he has such empathy for humanity that he makes most of his characters, even the feckless or false or cruel ones, at least sometimes sympathetic.
Becky Sharp, the "poor little friendless orphan" who becomes a bohemian adventuress, who remains throughout her life selfish, scheming, heartless, and "artful," who abominably neglects her son, alarmingly attracts the husbands, brothers, and sons of her friends, and comically mimics everyone behind their backs, and yet who is capable of genuine feeling, is one of the most fascinating anti-heroines in literature. Is she a plucky survivor or a wicked siren? Her foil, the seemingly pure, simple, loving, and good Amelia Sedley, is also compelling, for with selfish selflessness she indulges in her Angel in the House, submissive and dependent feminine saintliness to such a degree that she harms herself and her true lover.
The reader John Castle is great! With perfect pauses, emphases, wit, and emotion, he engagingly reads all the characters' voices with their different accents, personalities, genders, and moods, whether a stingy hyena-faced old country baron, a drunken cockney footman, a boastful Irish officer's wife, a mercenary French maid, or a foppish German diplomat--everyone.
Thackery's "historian" narrator, who's telling a "true" story based on the accounts of the principle characters he has met, satirizes early 19th century British and European culture (class, religion, education, business, war, tourism, etc.) so as to expose human vanity in general. We are all driven by vain desires and feel unfulfilled after getting what we want. We are all selfish, artful, and self- and other-deluding. The novel may seem misanthropic. But Thackery is so good at making us laugh, groan, cry, or think, that if the novel ("without a hero") is not uplifting, it is entertaining, stimulating, and often moving.
20 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Kindle Customer
- 30-12-10
Fantastic narration
I have read Vanity Fair before, so there were no surprises here.
It is a well written and interesting novel.
My 5 star rating is as much for John Castle's narration, as it is for the novel. Superb!
9 people found this helpful
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- Darla Sharp
- 14-11-12
Best Narrator EVER!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes! Engrossing story, richly drawn characters and wonderful language.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The Colonel, for his growth of character through the narrative.
Have you listened to any of John Castle’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but I immediately searched him--he is absolutely the best narrator ever--his diction was lovely, his accent superb, and his enunciation and pronunciation perfect and that is including his excellent French and Latin phrase turns as well. Perfection! I wish he had a hundred books to his name in voice! First rate! Top notch! Sublime!
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I laughed and cried, though more laughs out loud and just a little tearing up, nothing extreme for this was Vanity Fair...
Any additional comments?
This is a pleasingly long book--at first daunting, then eagerly appreciated for its length and depth of story. Fabulous.
7 people found this helpful
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- Madeleine
- 15-02-11
Oh Becky Sharp!
Born at the wrong time: a 21th century woman stuck in the 19th! a great listen
6 people found this helpful
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- Alysha
- 18-02-10
Wonderful Narration
The narrator of this story is quite easy to listen to and has a very engaging voice and tone. Highly recommended!
13 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-11-18
INCOMPLETE - DO YOUR HOMEWORK
This version is missing the crucial preface and coda to the work. While some installment purists will point out that the original serialized version did not have the preface when it was released in monthly parts from 1847-1848, the first full edition of the book did have one in 1848, of course written by Thackeray and intended to be read before and after the actual text.
Do yourself a favor and read the preface (easily found online, simply google "Vanity Fair PDF" and click on the first link - it's in the public domain) before starting the audiobook. Additionally, when you take a break from listening, have a gander at some of the illustrations that originally accompanied the work - they're every bit as biting and satirical as the text itself.
Lastly, Thackeray expected the reader to be familiar with the term "Vanity Fair" - not just as a magazine title. An extract from the VF wiki: " 'Vanity Fair' or a 'vanity-fair' was also in general use for 'the world' in a range of connotations from the blandly descriptive to the wearily dismissive to the condemning."
Now that you've done your homework, please enjoy a magnificent performance of one of the most relentlessly mocking, least empathetic novels ever written. Unless your name is Amelia Sedley, I'm sure you will.
4 people found this helpful