La foire aux vanités

The author of Vanity Fair intended a novel without a hero, according to wikipedia. At first protagonist Becky Sharpe seems like a heroine - a smart, strong-willed woman aiming at success - but her flaws soon become apparent, and they are many. And most of the people she meets are either no better, or better but much dumber.

Becky is neither all bad nor all good, although her bad qualities are sometimes very, very bad. To me it seems Becky is doing her best in a society in which the only option for a woman - no matter how smart - to achieve upward mobility is through marriage, and Becky is a character who should be wheeling and dealing but instead spends her time on seduction and plotting. (I don't know if that's how she comes across in the book.)

Olivia Cooke is wonderful as Becky (she has a cheeky, sardonic quality reminiscent of Phoebe Waller-Bridge), and the rest of the cast is excellent.

Highly recommended.

Glitzy, cutting and in this day and age relevant.

The casting is superior as is the dialogue and costumes.

Whilst I adore the film, this dramatisation is giving more depth to the story. I for one cannot wait for the third part. Welcome addition to a boring Sunday night.

I have watched episode 1 & 2 on catch up and I LOVE it so far, I can only imagine it to get better, so waiting patiently for next episode

I have never seen the previous versions, nor would I want to, but I have read the book, but I appreciate, being a person who is open to diversity and to new and fresh interpretation.

The characters in the series are well done, and am so far thoroughly caught up in their lives.

I most definitely recommend it and also urge people to give it a chance!

I went into watching this unsure I guess, especially after seeing the trailer and hearing the music, but once I started watching, I was like WOW! far from dull! It's actually far better than what I expected! I am really enjoying it.

I don't know too much about the book, and I am glad, as I might have been of a similar opinion to the dowdy people reviewing it on here. (God! calm down!) It is visually stunning.

The sets (CGI) and costumes are incredibly grand without being over the top. The acting is top notch from EVERYBODY involved.

In a word, it is FANTASTIC! And it's human!

ITV are no slouches when it comes to the adaptation of classical novels, and I am delighted that Vanity Fair is proving to be a first class series. Thackeray's sharp wit and sometimes cynical view of human behaviour is portrayed with skill by a top class cast.

There is hardly a false step anywhere with Becky doing all she can to convince her tv audience and her companions in the Crawley household that she is the Queen of all she Surveys. She is ably assisted by a nimble cast, notably Martin Clunes as the roguish Pitt Crawley and Frances de la Tour as the irrepressible Miss Crawley. I don't know if a series as good as this needs the modern music and I am hoping ITV won't spring the BBC's favourite trick of changing the ending of the story.

Mary Gumsley