# Vanity Fair (2018)

> A penniless orphan schemes her way up through early nineteenth century English society in this sharp adaptation of Thackeray's novel.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/69534

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 7
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, comedy, history
- Created by: Gwyneth Hughes
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Olivia Cooke, Tom Bateman, Claudia Jessie, Johnny Flynn, Michael Palin, Frances de la Tour, Sian Clifford, Martin Clunes
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7076630/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: witty, ironic, sardonic, warm, melodramatic

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, with the adaptation praised for its sharp take on Becky Sharp and its polished period production.

## Synopsis

Vanity Fair (2018) is a British period drama miniseries created by Gwyneth Hughes for ITV1, adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel. Olivia Cooke plays Becky Sharp, a clever and penniless orphan determined to climb out of poverty and into the heights of English high society. Tom Bateman appears as Rawdon Crawley, Claudia Jessie as Amelia Sedley, and Johnny Flynn as William Dobbin, with Michael Palin cast as William Makepeace Thackeray himself, lending the story its wry narrating voice. Becky's engine is pure ambition: she uses charm, flattery and calculated manipulation to win over aristocratic households, while every rise carries the risk of a fall. Across seven episodes of roughly forty-eight minutes each, the drama moves through drawing rooms, country estates and gaming tables in a rigid class hierarchy shadowed by the Napoleonic wars. The tone is witty and ironic, sharply satirical about vanity and pretension yet warm toward its flawed characters. Fans of Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey and Bridgerton will find resonance in its costume detail, social ambition and sly humour.

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