Vanity Fair

The main characters, Miss Emilia Sedley and Miss Rebecca (Becky) Sharp, study together at Miss Pinkerton's private guesthouse .

Emilia is the daughter of a successful businessman, has an even and meek disposition and enjoys universal adoration. Becky, on the other hand, is an orphan, the daughter of a drunken artist and a French dancer, who left her daughter only a striking appearance, artistry, intelligence and brilliant knowledge of the French language . She lives with Miss Pinkerton and receives education, acting as a French teacher for younger pupils.

Emilia Sedley is the only person Becky treats with almost sincere kindness. “Almost” - because friendship is poisoned by Becky’s awareness of the inequality of their situation, and the fact that Emilia, who did not know the need, can not understand Becky’s problems and help her friend.

Girls leave the boarding house together. Emilia - in order to settle with her parents and soon marry the son of a wealthy businessman, officer George Osborne, whom she adores. Becky, on the other hand, got the place of a governess in one impoverished aristocratic family, but before starting work, she, at the invitation of her friend, visits her for some time.

At Shadley’s house, Miss Sharpe meets Emilia’s brother, Mr. Joseph Sedley, a clumsy, conceited, but very good-natured official of the East India Company . Rebecca is trying her best to persuade him to offer her hand and heart, but due to the indecision of Jos and the intervention of George Osborne, Emilia’s fiancé, who does not want to become related to the “ governess, ” Rebecca is defeated.

She is forced to leave Sedley and go to the Crowley family. In the house where Sir Pitt Crowley (an ebullient and insane old man) lives with his wife, his son Mr. Pitt Crowley and his youngest daughters, Rebecca soon seeks trust and favor. But the family of Sir Pitt, despite the family estate, a huge number of glorious ancestors and a place in the House of Commons , is poor, and all its members are eagerly awaiting the death of the sister of Sir Pitt, the rich Miss Matilda Crowley. Miss herself gladly accepts the universal worship of her wealth, but she is going to leave her brothers and senior nephew, the respectable and bizarre Pitt with the nose, making her younger nephew, Officer Rodon Crowley, his heir. During a visit to Miss Crowley, the estate of Sir Pitt Becky gains her sympathy and, at her request, goes with her to London . But the capricious old woman’s place as a companion is fragile, so Becky decides to take steps to strengthen her position. When the widowed Sir Pitt arrives in London to make Miss Sharp an offer to become the next lady Crowley, Rebecca is forced to refuse - because she is already secretly married to Sir Pitt's son and Miss Matilda Rodon's favorite, who has no memory of her in love. Miss Crowley, learning that his nephew married a governess, forever erases him and Becky from his heart and his will.

In the meantime, Emilia is also gathering at the crown for George Osborne. But all of a sudden, Mr. Sedley Sr. goes broke , and old Osborne does not allow his son to marry the bankrupt's daughter. Despite the ban, as well as the fact that George himself does not have passionate love for Emilia, he still marries her. This is mainly due to the persuasion of George’s friend, William Dobbin, who himself is secretly in love with Emilia, but realizing that the girl thinks only about George, decides to step aside, reminding the young and conceited Osborne about the officer’s honor, which refusal will not adorn from marriage with a girl only because of her sudden poverty.

The wedding took place, and the newlyweds spend their honeymoon with the couple Crowley, Becky and Rodon. Although not a week had passed since the wedding, George Osborne was carried away by Mrs. Crowley. The war with Napoleon "saved" him from fleeing with Rebecca. Rodon and George are taking part in the Battle of Waterloo , but Osborne is not returning from it. Thus, eternal memory and eternal devotion of his wife remained about him.

Soon, Emilia gives birth to her son Georgie, and Becky's son Rodon (both named after their fathers). Meanwhile, old Sir Pitt Crowley passed away, and now his son Pitt Jr., who, after the death of Miss Crowley, became the heir to her wealth, was at the head of the family. Becky and her husband and son are trying to break into high society , attending various social events, making acquaintances with “worthy” people. But this did not bring to good, and one day Rodon found his wife during a dubious meeting with a rich admirer Lord Stein. A furious husband finds in her secretary a cache of money, although, in his opinion, the family is in distress. A duel is approaching, but through intermediaries, Stein and Rodon refuse it, and the next day, Rodon finds out that he has been appointed to the post of governor of Coventry Island. Rodon leaves his wife, although he sends her annual maintenance. Some time later, he dies of a fever a week before the death of his brother Pitt. Crowley's entire fortune is inherited by the son of Rodon and Rebecca, Rodon Jr.

After the scandal with Lord Stein, Rebecca is expelled from London society and wanders around Europe in search of happiness. Here she had to lead an extremely immoral life, to become almost a gypsy . But then she meets Emilia, Major Dobbin and Joseph Sedley. From Rebecca, Emilia learns that her late husband George actually never loved her, and marries Dobbin, who had been unsuccessfully seeking her hand for many years. The result of the marriage was the girl Jane.

Becky again tries to seduce Jos, and this time she succeeds. However, after a few years, José dies, leaving Rebecca only half the insurance by testament: Joseph’s entire condition was wasted by that time due to Rebecca’s unsuccessful fraud. Rebecca is left alone, her son Rodon does not renew relations with her mother, but provides her financial support.

Silent Movie

• 1911 - The Vanity Fair. Director Charles Kent. In the role of Rebecca - Helen Gardner, in the role of Emilia - Rose Tapley.
• 1915 - Vanity Fair. Director Charles Brebin. In the role of Rebecca - Minnie Maddern Fiske, in the role of Emilia - Helen Fulton.
• 1922 - Vanity Fair. Director Courtney Rowden. In the role of Rebecca - Cosmo Curly Balle.
• 1923 - Vanity Fair. Director Hugo Bellin. In the role of Rebecca - Mabel Ballin , in the role of Emilia - Elinor Boardman .

Sound movie

• 1932 - Vanity Fair . Director Chester M. Franklin. In the role of Rebecca - Mirna Loy , in the role of Emilia - Barbara Kent .
• 1935 - Becky Sharp . Director Ruben Mamulyan . In the role of Rebecca - Miriam Hopkins (nomination for an Oscar for best performance of the main female role ), in the role of Emilia - Francis Dee .
• 2004 - Vanity Fair . Director - Mira Nair . In the role of Rebecca - Reese Witherspoon , in the role of Emilia - Romola Garai .

Television

• 1967 - Vanity Fair, a BBC mini-series. Director Rex Tucker. In the role of Rebecca - Susan Hampshire , in the role of Emilia - Marilyn Tylerson.
• 1976 - “Vanity Fair”, TV-production staged by the Moscow State Academic Maly Theater of the USSR, production of “Screen” USSR
• 1987 - Vanity Fair, BBC Channel mini-series. In the role of Rebecca - Yves Matheson, in the role of Emilia - Rebecca Sheir.
• 1998 - Vanity Fair , BBC Channel mini-series. Director Mark Manden. The role of Rebecca is Natasha Little , the role of Emilia is Francis Gray.
• 2018 - Vanity Fair , ITV Channel mini-series. In the role of Rebecca - Olivia Cook , in the role of Emilia - Claudia Jesse.

• The play "Becky Sharp" by Langdon Alvin Mitchell .

• Aleksandrov N.N. V. Tekkerey: His life and literary activity . - SPb. : Type of. Yu.N. Erlich, 1891. - 78 p. - (The life of wonderful people: F. Pavlenkov's Biographical Library ).

• William Thackeray in the library of Maxim Moshkov
• “Vanity Fair” (in Russian and English) (Russian) (inaccessible link) . Archived November 26, 2010. (eng.)
• “Vanity Fair” (film, 1976, USSR) on YouTube