Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley stand at the heart of this richly comic dissection of English society during the Napoleonic wars. Becky is charming and amoral and well equipped to fight for worldly success. Amelia is sweet and sentimental and longs for her worthless soldier lover, while the good but dull Dobbin stands patiently by. With a cast of characters grotesque, corrupt and downright wicked, the vast sweep of the novel allows Thackeray's wit and morality to shine a light into society's murkier corners.