I found this slightly-battered paperback at the Salvation Army Thrift Store and nabbed it for a release copy. I'd "read" the book via audiobook recently, and enjoyed it immensely, despite (or because of) the fact that the famous Becky Sharp was both much nastier and much more desperate than most of the film versions of the story indicate! [I only remember one brief passage in the book that revealed Becky as actually being frantic with worry and fear, and that only lasted a short time. Once she got back on her feet again she seemed as cheerfully able to mangle the lives of others for her own benefit as ever.]

I wouldn't say that the novel is really without a hero; poor stalwart Dobbin behaves about as heroically as one could wish. But he's not the central character, and even he shows plenty of character flaws, so the impression overall is of a society in which it's difficult if not impossible to behave well and still have things turn out for the best. Sarcastic, sardonic, and loaded with wry humor, I thoroughly recommend Vanity Fair.

[Re the film versions... the 2004 film was a stylish production that pretty much reinvented Becky's character, making her a spunky heroine with a heart of gold - a much more sympathetic view than the novel took, and much less interesting. There have been several films and at least a couple of TV mini-series (some of which get much better reviews than the films did, like this 1998 mini-series, which I saw via Netflix), so one can choose from a plethora of Beckys and Dobbins and Crawleys!]

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book in the entrance area of La Carreta (a wonderful traditional-style Mexican restaurant on DW Highway) at around 7 or 8. Hope the finder enjoys the book!