Vanity Fair
Penguin English Library
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Vanity Fair
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Narrated by:
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Robert Hardy
About this listen
Penguin Classics presents William Makepeace Thackeray adapted for audio and available as a digital download as part of the Penguin English Library series. Read by Robert Hardy’s Vanitas Vanitatum!
Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? Or, having it, is satisfied? No one is better equipped in the struggle for wealth and worldly success than the alluring and ruthless Becky Sharp, who defies her impoverished background to clamber up the class ladder. Her sentimental companion Amelia, however, longs only for caddish soldier George. As the two heroines make their way through the tawdry glamour of Regency society, battles - military and domestic - are fought, fortunes made and lost.
The one steadfast and honourable figure in this corrupt world is Dobbin with his devotion to Amelia, bringing pathos and depth to Thackeray’s gloriously satirical epic of love and social adventure. Part of a series of vintage recordings taken from the Penguin Archives. Affordable, collectable, quality productions - perfect for on-the-go listening.
©2012 William Makepeace Thackeray (P)2012 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Set in the world of the Victorian professional and landed classes, the story centres on Mr Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity who is nevertheless in possession of an income from a charity far in excess of the sum devoted to it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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a delight
- By Janet on 12-22-08
By: Anthony Trollope
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The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,404
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,131
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,119
In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Finally!
- By Laurene on 06-05-10
By: Anthony Trollope
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Cousin Bette
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Johanna Ward
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 423
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 315
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 317
The Bette referred to in this magnificent novel's title is Lisbeth Fischer, an excruciatingly cunning poor relation who both depends upon and nurses a terrible grudge against the family of her beautiful cousin, Adeline. That family is slowly being ruined by the uncontrollable sexual appetites of Adeline's husband, Baron Hulot - appetites that will, in time, give Cousin Bette opportunity to exact her vengeance.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator!
- By Murasaki on 12-03-06
By: Honoré de Balzac
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No Name
- By: Wilkie Collins
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton, Rachel Atkins, Russell Bentley, and others
- Length: 27 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 113
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
Magdalen and Norah Vanstone have known only comfort and affluence for their entire lives. Orphaned suddenly following the unexpected deaths of their parents, the illegitimate sisters find themselves flung into the other extreme of living: their father had neglected to amend his will following their parents' recent marriage, leaving them with nothing, and their bitter, estranged uncle, the legal inheritor of the family fortune, mercilessly refuses them support.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good and Evil and Funny
- By John on 07-06-20
By: Wilkie Collins
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Cranford
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Prunella Scales
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 583
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 477
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 475
A vivid and affectionate portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid-19th century, Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women, relating the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. Through a series of satirical vignettes, Gaskell sympathetically portrays changing small town customs and values in mid-Victorian England....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Quietly, subtly sweet and heartwarming
- By T. on 03-26-12
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Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 778
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 679
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 673
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
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Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Bronte
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
Written when women---and workers generally---had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-19th-century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Make.it.stop.
- By Wayne on 03-18-22
By: Anne Bronte
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Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,688
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,522
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,451
Leo Tolstoy's classic story of doomed love is one of the most admired novels in world literature. Generations of readers have been enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with dashing Count Vronsky.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Need to Disclose and Highlight Name of Translator
- By Charles B on 08-27-18
By: Leo Tolstoy
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The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
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5 out of 5 stars
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excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
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The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Laura Paton
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 354
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 322
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 322
Maggie Tulliver has two lovers: Philip Wakem, son of her father’s enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie’s struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great compassion
- By nina lalumia on 12-26-16
By: George Eliot
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Man and Wife
- By: Wilkie Collins
- Narrated by: Nicolas Boulton
- Length: 23 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Published 10 years after Collins’s most popular novel The Woman in White, Man and Wife centres on the confused and inequitable marriage laws of 19th-century Britain, reflecting the author’s own antipathy toward the institution. The plot follows the fortunes of a woman who, committed to marriage with one man, comes to believe that she may have inadvertently married his friend, according to the archaic laws of Scotland and Ireland.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Intricate plot, good dialogue, desperately needed an editor
- By Seth on 07-25-21
By: Wilkie Collins
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Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Norma West
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 102
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4 out of 5 stars 54
Previously unpublished in unabridged audio, these three works (one novel unpublished in her lifetime and two unfinished fragments) reveal Jane Austen's development as a great artist.
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4 out of 5 stars
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For the Austen Addict
- By Joseph R on 09-09-09
By: Jane Austen
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Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4 out of 5 stars 86
A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure.
A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator creates the listen
- By connie on 02-06-12
What listeners say about Vanity Fair
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Elizabeth Hopkins
- 06-24-19
Delightful Performance and Solid Abridgement
Robert Hardy does an absolutely fantastic job with Thackery's wry tone, and the abridgment is very well done, and keeps the most essential and hilarious parts of the narrative whole & cohesive. Really delightful.
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