Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair Summary | Chapter 1 Summary

The novel opens with the Sedley's coach pulling up to Miss Pinkerton's academy for young girls to collect Amelia Sedley, daughter of the wealthy merchant John Sedley, and Becky Sharp, a boarder at the school. The headmistress, Barbara Pinkerton, writes a personal reference to the Sedleys, speaking highly of Amelia, who is a delightful person well deserving of Miss Pinkerton's praise. The entire staff and student body of the school are sad to see her go. The narrator states that Amelia Sedley is not the heroine of this novel, though she will appear a great deal later.

Becky Sharp appears in the midst of the excitement surrounding Amelia's departure. She is not very well liked by Miss Pinkerton, and the two share a tense farewell before Becky slips into the coach unnoticed in the flurry of Amelia's farewell. Miss Pinkerton refuses to inscribe a copy of Johnson's dictionary, the customary gift for graduating girls, but her sister steals one and sneaks it out to Becky with some money. The chapter ends as Becky Sharp flings the book from the carriage window.