If you loved
Vanity Fair
William Makepeace Thackeray · Book · 1992
What hooked you in Vanity Fair was the way the relentless pursuit of social advancement reveals the fragile, often cynical, heart of human ambition.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Vanity Fair
Andrew Davies · Series · 1998
Adaptation
Vanity Fair
Mira Nair · Film · 2004
Films on the same thread
Barry Lyndon
Film · 1975
Like Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, Barry Lyndon proves that wit and cunning are the most effective weapons for an outsider desperate to climb the rigid ladder of social hierarchy.
Gone with the Wind
Victor Fleming · Film · 1939
Much like the protagonist of Vanity Fair, Scarlett O'Hara uses her indomitable will and pragmatic spirit to navigate the shifting landscapes of a society undergoing a brutal, transformative historical upheaval.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Terry Gilliam · Film · 1988
If you appreciated the satirical bite Thackeray brought to Vanity Fair, you will recognize that same spirit of absurdity and picaresque invention within these fantastical, tall-tale adventures.
Barbie as The Princess & the Pauper
William Lau · Film · 2004
This retelling mirrors the class-based identity struggles found in Vanity Fair, offering a lighter look at how mistaken status and social positioning shape the lives of those caught in between.
Series on the same thread
Belgravia
Julian Fellowes · Series · 2020
Set against the same backdrop of the Battle of Waterloo as Vanity Fair, this drama captures the exact mixture of social intrigue and scandalous secrets that defines Thackeray’s Victorian world.
War and Peace
Series · 2016
The epic scope of Vanity Fair is mirrored here, as personal romances and the individual lives of nobility are inextricably tied to the grand, chaotic movements of the Napoleonic Wars.
Rome
Bruno Heller · Series · 2005
Just as Vanity Fair strips away the veneer of 19th-century society, this series offers a gritty, ground-level perspective on the power struggles and betrayals that define an entire imperial civilization.
Scarlet Heart: Ryeo
Tong Hua · Series · 2016
The protagonist’s sudden immersion into a complex, high-stakes court environment echoes the precarious position Becky Sharp occupied in Vanity Fair, where one wrong move means total social ruin.
Podcasts on the same thread
Revolutions
Mike Duncan · Podcast · 2025
If the cyclical patterns of power and social collapse in Vanity Fair fascinated you, this historical analysis provides the deep context for the structural shifts that define such human stories.
Criminal
Vox Media Podcast Network · Podcast · 2026
Thackeray’s commitment to exploring the moral ambiguity of his characters in Vanity Fair is echoed in these investigations, which focus on the complex, often gray areas of human behavior.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Vanity Fair a historical novel?
Yes, Vanity Fair is a historical novel first published in 1848. It is William Makepeace Thackeray's most representative work and provides a broad picture of society during the nineteenth century, including a famous account of the Battle of Waterloo.
Who is the main character in Vanity Fair?
The principal character in Vanity Fair is Becky Sharp. She is portrayed as an adventuress navigating the social landscape of the period. Her story serves as the central focus of Thackeray's novel, which depicts society on a broad scale.
Should I watch the 1998 TV show or the 2004 movie of Vanity Fair?
Both the 1998 TV series and the 2004 movie are adaptations of the original novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. You can choose either based on your preference for a television format or a feature film presentation of the source material.
What is the source material for the 2004 movie Vanity Fair?
The 2004 movie Vanity Fair is based on the 1848 novel of the same name by William Makepeace Thackeray. The film adapts the story of the adventuress Becky Sharp and the author's depiction of society, which also includes the famous account of the Battle of Waterloo.