《名利场》是不列颠多元文化研究的第九部作品

Thackeray was born in Calcutta，India，where his father held the high rank of secretary to the board of revenue in the British East India Company.

萨克雷出生于印度的加尔各答。父亲是不列颠东印度公司的一名高级税务员。

His parents returned to England in 1817 and Thackeray was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College，Cambridge.However，Thackeray became addicted to gambling and left Cambridge in 1830 without a degree and heavily in debt.

1817年，萨克雷跟随父母回到英国，后来进入了查特豪斯和剑桥三一学院就读。然而，因萨克雷沉迷于赌博，1830年，他中途退学，离开了剑桥。他不仅没拿到学位，而且负债累累。

At first Thackeray tried to make a living as a painter but after this ended in failure he turned to journalism.Thackeray moved to Paris where he became the French correspondent for the radical newspaper，The Constitutional.He returned to Britain in 1837 and earned living by w riting.　

萨克雷一开始想当画家谋生，但最终半途而废，之后又投身新闻行业。萨克雷移居巴黎，担任伦敦激进报《立宪报》的驻巴黎记者。1837年，萨克雷返回英国，靠写作维持生计。

In 1847 Thackeray published his most famous novel，Vanity Fair.

1847年，萨克雷发表了其最著名的小说《名利场》。

Plot：The title of Vanity Fair comes from the John Bunyan's novel The Pilgrim's Progress.There are two main clues in the novel.

故事梗概：小说《名利场》之名取自约翰·班扬的寓言小说《天路历程》，主要情节可分为两条线索。(www.xing528.com)

One is the Becky Sharp，an orphan，who is determined to worm her way into the upper class at all costs.She spends a short time in Amelia's home，where Sharp attempts but fails to entrap Amelia's bother as a husband.Then she becomes the governess in the family of a baronet，Sir Pitt Crawley.She soon gains the favor of Sir Pitt Crawley，who is captivated by her charms to such a degree that after the death of his wife he proposes to her.But Becky Sharp has to give up because she has married to the old man's son Rawdon Crawley because the young man has the bright future ofinheriting his rich aunt’s property.The old lady disinherits Rawdon on account of his marrying Becky Sharp，her hopes of being married to a rich husband are dashed.　

一条线索描写的是孤儿贝姬·夏普不惜一切代价决意要进入上流社会的故事。她暂住在富家小姐爱米丽亚家中时，企图嫁给爱米丽亚的哥哥以进入上流社会，但却以引诱失败而收场。之后，贝姬·夏普成了彼特·克劳利爵士家的家庭教师，不断耍手段勾引爵士，很快爵士就喜欢上了她，而且非常为之着迷。当爵士夫人去世后，爵士便立马向她求婚。而此时，贝姬·夏普不得不拒绝爵士的求婚，因为她已秘密嫁给了爵士的儿子罗登，因为罗登前途光明，可以继承他那位有钱姑姑的遗产。但是罗登的姑姑却因其娶了贝姬·夏普而剥夺了他的遗产继承权。至此，贝姬·夏普想嫁个有钱人的梦想彻底破灭。

The other clue is the description of the pure girl Amelia，who is deeply in love with a light-minded young lieutenant.Getting through various hardships，she is married to Gorge Osborne.Unfortunately，before long her husband is tired of Amelia and seeks for newlove.On the other hand，Amelia is so loyal to her husband and even refuses to marry after Gorge Osborne's death.　

另一条线索描写纯洁的姑娘爱米丽亚钟情于轻浮的年轻军官乔治·奥斯本，冲破重重障碍终于和他结婚。但不幸的是，丈夫很快就厌倦她，另觅新欢。而爱米丽亚却依旧忠贞如一，即使在丈夫死后仍不肯改嫁。

Until Becky Sharp discloses an old secret，showing George's letter asking her to elope with him，Amelia decides to marry again.Becky Sharp goes on living with Joseph，until he dies after，leaving his property to her.　　

最后，贝姬·夏普透露乔治生前写信约自己私奔的事实。爱米丽亚这才决定开始新的婚姻生活。贝姬·夏普一直与约瑟夫生活在一起，在他死后，她得到一笔遗产。

Comment：If Vanity Fair succeeds，it is because it is—like much of Dickens's output—a great work of journalism.

评论：如果说《名利场》取得了成功，那么原因就在于它是一部伟大的新闻学作品，而这一点同许多狄更斯的作品一样。