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1 VaNITy Fair, which has been newly adapted for ITV, was the first of William Makepeace Thackeray’s books that . . . A. Was published in instalments B. Appeared under his own name C. Had a female protagonist D. He illustrated himself 2 WHICH of these is a character in the novel? A. Boris Johnson B. Theresa May C. David Cameron D. George Osborne 3 TrUE Or FaLSE: Thackeray was the greatgreat-great-grandfather of English comedian Michael McIntyre. 4 WHICH word did Thackeray coin and first use in the book Vanity Fair? A. Ingenue B. Parvenu C. Oxbridge D. Vanity Fair 5 aFTEr reading Vanity Fair, who described Thackeray as ‘the legitimate high priest of truth’? A. Charlotte Bronte B. George Eliot C. Queen Victoria D. Michael Palin
6TrUE Or FaLSE: a big- screen adaptation of Vanity Fair was the world’s first film with sound.
ANSWERS 1) B. Appeared under his own name
Thackeray’s previous books had been published unsigned or under pseudonyms. he illustrated and serialised several works, including Vanity Fair, which was published in Punch from 1847 to 1848. a 1939 work, catherine, featured an earlier female protagonist, criminal catherine hayes.
2) D. George Osborne
aT 13 the former chancellor switched from Gideon to George, unaware it was the name of Vanity Fair’s ‘pretty scoundrel’.
3) False
he Was the great-great-great-grandfather of Pub landlord comic al Murray, who inherited the writer’s inkwell. he said: ‘I didn’t read his works for a long time because I’m not mad about Victorian novelists.’
4) A. Ingenue
The oeD says the word (‘an artless, innocent young woman’) first appeared in Vanity Fair’s line: ‘Becky had a knack of adopting a demure ingenue air...’ Thackeray used ‘parvenu’ (social climber) too, but was not the first to do so. he coined ‘oxbridge’ in his novel Pendennis. ‘Vanity Fair’ was first used in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
5) A. Charlotte Bronte
BroNTe even dedicated Jane eyre to him. George eliot considered Thackeray ‘the most powerful of living novelists’. Queen Victoria owned a copy of Vanity Fair, while Michael Palin, who plays Thackeray in the ITV series, chose it on Desert Island Discs.
6) False
BUT a 1935 adaptation titled Becky sharp, starring cedric hardwicke and Miriam hopkins, was the first feature film to use Technicolor. one critic said the actors looked like ‘boiled salmon dipped in mayonnaise’.