Vanity Fair

Becky Sharp begins as a lowly governess, and works her way up to being an aristocrat. Meanwhile, her friend Amelia Sedley falls on harder times after getting married and losing her husband at the Battle of Waterloo. The title of the book is taken from Pilgrim's Progress and refers to the town of Vanity, which is run like a fair, and the novel itself plays out like a fair with the narrator bringing people on and off like puppets in a play. It's a long and rich novel, and remains a true classic.