English Literature books summary

Rawdon is shocked to see that she leaves a meager sum of twenty pounds for

him!

Chapters 26, 27 & 28 Between London and Chatham, in which Amelia joins

her Regiment, in which Amelia invades the Low Countries.

On their way to Brussels, George, Amelia, Jos and Dobbin stop at

London. George keeps Amelia in the lap of luxury, but does not spend time

with her. He is back to his vices, of gambling and flirting. A happy Amelia

pays a visit to her parents. George meets his father’s solicitor for the

final little sum of 2000 pounds that his father has spared for him.

At Chatham, Amelia meets George’s regiment. They are all impressed by

Amelia’s sweet and kind nature and George feels proud of her. Amelia takes

a liking for the garrulous and imposing Mrs. Peggy O’Dowd, who is the wife

of Mayor O’Dowd, the commander of George’s regiment.

The regiment is transported by water to Ostend. Before the war can

begin, there is great merriment in the regiment. In such parties, Amelia is

extravagantly dressed, Jos, excessively drunk and George extremely

flirtatious.

Chapter 29 Brussels

Following the others, the Crawley couple arrives at Brussels. George

enjoys in their company but Amelia is jealous of the admiration Rebecca

receives from George. George continuously loses his money to Rawdon, at

gambling and loses his heart to Becky.

On June 15, 1815 a noble duchess hosts a lavish ball in which

Crawleys, Osbornes and Dobbin are invited. Amelia, half- expecting what

would happen, is quite without enthusiasm.

George, as usual, chaperones Rebecca, dances with her and in the end, gives

her a piece of paper crumpled in her bouquet. Amelia, totally neglected,

requests Dobbin to take her back to her room.

George Osborne is having a great time at the ball when Dobbin

announces that their regiment is to march to the battlefront. George, the

brave soldier, is excited. On his way to his room, he bitterly regrets his

behavior towards Amelia and wonders what will happen to her and their

unborn child if he were to die in the war. He feels guilty for his

ingratitude towards his father and writes a farewell letter to him.

Chapter 30 "The girl I left behind me"

Major O’Dowd, Rawdon, George, and Dobbin prepare to leave for the

battlefield. Rawdon is worried about the debts he is leaving behind and

gives Becky all his savings and valuables out of which she can make a

little fortune and live comfortably if he were to die. Rawdon is

overwhelmed with emotions while Rebecca bears it all with ‘Spartan

equanimity.’

Before leaving, Dobbin extracts a promise from Jos Sedley that he will

not leave Amelia alone and will take care of her while George is away.

After a brief parting with Amelia, George rushes to join the march, full of

enthusiasm and overflowing with excitement.

Chapter 31 In which Jos Sedley takes care of his sister.

Jos is comfortable while Amelia is very ill and disturbed in George’s

absence. Becky comes to pay Amelia a visit, but Amelia is furious at her

and behaves rudely towards her. In a fit of rage and jealousy, she assures

Becky that George loves only her (Amelia) and that none of Becky’s tricks

would work. For the first time, Amelia gathers enough courage to confront

Becky, who is stunned. She leaves Peggy to take care of Amelia.

Before this confrontation with Amelia, Becky flatters and praises an

impressed Jos Sedley so that she can use him whenever she needs to. While

Jos and Peggy are at dinner, they hear cannons being fired and it perturbs

them.

Chapter 32 In which Jos takes flight and the war is brought to a

close.

With the noise of cannons, there are rumors that the French will

overpower the British army. Mrs. O’Dowd courageously consoles Amelia while

Jos is mortally frightened. He puts forth his plan to flee to Ghent but his

servant Isidor informs him that all the horses are gone. Pauline’s (the

cook’s) lover, Regulus returns from the battlefield bringing the news of

the war that, the British army was butchered. They are all scared. Jos

plans to shave his moustaches so that no one will mistake him for an army

man.

Like Jos, even the Bareacres are panic struck and wish to flee but a

paucity of horses prevents them. Rebecca has two horses to sell but she

doesn’t sell them to the Lady Bareacres, as she is angry with the Lady for

ignoring her at the parties. She sells the horses to Jos at a very high

price.

The news of victory arrives. Amelia is even more hysterical. She spots

an injured ensign and mistakes him for George. This ensign, Tom Stubble,

brings news that George and Dobbin are fine. He tells them how Capt. Dobbin

had carried him to the surgeon and has sent him back with a message for

Mrs. Osborne that her husband is well.

When all are at peace, they hear the cannons of Waterloo strike again

and this scares Jos very much. Jos once more implores upon Amelia to leave

with him, but when she refuses, he goes away with his servant. After the

roaring of cannons all day, the British are finally triumphant. While

Amelia is praying for George, he lies dead with a bullet through his heart.

Chapter 33 In which Miss Crawley’s relations are very anxious about

her.

Miss Crawley reads about Rawdon’s bravery and learns that he has been

honored with the title of Colonel. She receives a letter and tokens of war

from his nephew Rawdon from Paris. Mrs. Bute Crawley is disappointed, for

her absence has resulted in her losing her hold over Miss Crawley and her

household.

After Becky leaves Queen’s Crawley, Sir Pitt does not care to mend his

lifestyle. He drinks with the peasants and showers attention on his servant

Miss Horrocks.

Mr. Pitt is to marry Lady Jane, daughter of Countess Southdown. Mr.

Pitt Crawley, together with Lady Southdown and Lady Jane, decides that he

must cultivate Miss Crawley’s friendship and win her favor as well as her

fortune.

Chapter 34 James Crawley’s pipe is put out.

Miss Crawley instantly likes Jane and asks her to visit her often.

Mrs. Bute Crawley, immensely jealous of the improvement Pitt is making with

Miss Crawley, sends her son James Crawley to please the rich lady. Miss

Crawley asks James to live in her house. Pitt is envious of James for Miss

Crawley had never invited him to stay with her. So he tries various ways to

make Miss Crawley fed up of James. One day, he instigates James to smoke a

pipe in the house. This pollutes the atmosphere of the home and results in

Miss Crawley bidding farewell to James.

Meanwhile, Becky creates a place for herself in the Parisian society.

She delivers a boy and Miss Crawley immediately orders for the marriage of

Pitt and Lady Jane. They come and stay with Miss Crawley and decide to give

them (Pitt and Jane) a thousand pounds a year till she lives and all the

bulk of her property after her death.

Chapter 35 Widow and mother.

Old Osborne and his family is wholly shaken and shattered at the news

of George’s death. His heart melts, when he reads the letter that George

had written to him on the eve of the battle. He goes to see his son’s tomb.

He sees Amelia in her sorrowful widowhood but remains unmoved and refuses

to accept her as his son’s widow.

Amelia lives a passive and melancholic life till the arrival of her

son, which brings life back into her. Dobbin is the godfather of the little

George and takes care that he does not lack anything. One day, Dobbin comes

and informs Amelia that he is leaving and will not be back for a long time.

She promises to write to him about little George.

Chapters 36 & 37 How to live well on nothing a year & the subject

continued.

Rebecca and Rawdon live comfortably on debt, in Paris, for 3 - 4

years. Rebecca becomes a favorite in the aristocratic circle. Rawdon has a

lucky hand at gambling but their rising debts compel them to return to

England. Becky makes the scene pretty easy in England, by appeasing

Rawdon’s old debtors. By promising them a fairly good dividend on the

previous debt, Becky gets ten times more from them.

The news of Miss Crawley’s death arrives. In London, Becky and Rawdon

stay in Raggles’ house at Curzon Street, Mayfair. Raggles is an old loyal

of the Crawley family. He was their (Crawley’s) butler, who had spent all

his hard-earned money to buy the apartment, which he now lends Becky. Becky

and Rawdon never pay him anything, and in time, poor Raggles becomes a

ruined man.

Miss Crawley leaves Bute Crawley five thousand pounds, Rawdon inherits

only a hundred pounds, and the rest of the fortune is left to Pitt. Rebecca

advises Rawdon to keep a friendly relationship with Pitt and his wife.

Rebecca is a failure as a mother. In fact, she finds little Rawdon a great

botheration, but father and son share a special bond.

Rebecca totally overshadows Rawdon. While Rawdon is busy with his son,

Becky charms rich men like Lord Styne. One day, while playing at a park,

Rawdon and his son meet John Sedley and Georgy.

Chapter 38 A Family in a small way

Jos Sedley goes to India, straight from Brussels, without meeting

anyone. He sends his parents a small sum of money, which is their chief

income. Amelia develops into a possessive mother and hurts her own mother

by suspecting that she wants her Georgy to be poisoned. Reverend Mr.

Binney, who offers to teach Georgy Latin, proposes marriage to Amelia,

which she turns down kindly. She refuses to send her son away to school and

creates havoc if he falls ill.

Dobbin writes frequently and sends numerous expensive gifts for

Georgy, Amelia, and her parents. Her parents are sorry about the fact that

she does not want to marry Dobbin. Georgy grows up to be pompous and proud

like his father. Sometimes, Dobbin’s sisters take Georgy out for a ride in

their carriage or to spend a day with the ladies. One day they inform

Amelia that Dobbin is about to marry Glorvina O’Dowd at Madras. Amelia

expresses a great deal of happiness at the news.

Chapter 39 A Cynical chapter

Lady Jane and Pitt pay a visit to Sir Pitt, soon after their wedding.

Sir Pitt’s condition is lamentable, so is the state of his house. Miss

Horrocks rules the entire home. Mrs. Bute Crawley, with her close eye on

Queen’s Crawley, catches Miss Horrocks red handed as she is trying to

steal. She brings along her husband and James to bear witness. While Miss

Horrocks is busy robbing, her father and a doctor try to murder Sir Pitt,

but Bute Crawley foils their plan and throws them out of Queen’s Crawley.

Chapters 40 & 41 In which Becky is recognized by the family and in

which Becky revisits the halls of her ancestors.

The news of the death of Sir Pitt makes his son Pitt secretly

delighted, as now he will be Sir Pitt Crawley with a seat in the

Parliament. He quickly communicates the news to Rawdon. Rawdon and Rebecca

rush to Queen’s Crawley, dressed correctly to the occasion, leaving little

Rawdon with Miss Briggs who has been living with them since Miss Crawley’s

demise.

Becky and Rawdon’s homecoming is warm. Pitt notices that marriage to

Becky has made Rawdon a better person. Pitt volunteers to pay for little

Rawdon’s education. Becky is touched by the goodness of Lady Jane. Knowing

that Pitt is at odds with Bute Crawley and his family, Becky gladly blames

Mrs. Bute Crawley for her marriage to Rawdon and their eventual falling out

of Miss Crawley’s favor.

Becky and Rawdon leave for London with many gifts from Lady Jane.

During their short stay Rebecca pleases everyone at the house, while Rawdon

misses his beloved son and keeps track of his activities back home.

Chapters 42 & 43 Which treats of the Osborne family and In which the

reader has to double the cape.

Maria Osborne is married to Fredrick Bullock, the greedy materialistic

man, and they are almost cut off from the family due to their social

superiority. Miss Jane leads a monotonous life with her tyrannical father.

One day, she meets Georgy and gifts him a gold watch and a chain. Her

father begins to flush up and tremble at the news.

Amelia writes to Dobbin wishing him and his wife all the best. It is

believed that, Dobbin will marry Glorvina, sister of Peggy O’Dowd, but he

is too involved with Amelia to even think about the match. So he is deeply

hurt to read Amelia’s letter, blessing the couple, and yearns to go back to

England. Soon, he receives his sister’s letter informing him that Amelia

may be marrying a Reverend Mr. Binney. With this knowledge, Dobbin rushes

to England.

Chapters 44 & 45 A roundabout chapter between London and Hampshire and

between Hampshire and London.

Becky is to take care of the renovation of the Great Gaunt House of

Sir Pitt. Sir Pitt comes for a short stay with them, during which Becky

impresses him with everything she does. Sir Pitt realizes that, Rawdon was

supposed to inherit the money that he has, and so helps him with small sums

every now and then. The frequent visits of men like Sir Pitt and Lord Styne

helps Becky to extract more credit, for the creditors believe that if she

stays in such rich company, she can surely return their debts. During this

time Rebecca gets more and more estranged from her son.

While Sir Pitt frequents Becky’s house, Rawdon and his son spend a

happy time with Lady Jane and her children, who they are very fond of. Sir

Pitt is elected as a Member of the Parliament. Becky dislikes Lady Jane for

being a simple and good woman. Becky also introduces Sir Pitt to Lord

Styne.

Chapter 46 Struggles and trials.

Amelia is too possessive to send Georgy to school, therefore she

teaches him at home. After one of the rides in the Dobbin’s carriage,

Georgy tells his mother that an old man had come to see him. Old Mr.

Osborne sends his attorney to get Georgy in his custody with the following

proposal: Amelia is to get a fair allowance, which will not be withdrawn,

even if she marries again. She will be allowed to see her son sometimes but

at her own residence. Amelia is furious at the attorney for bringing such a

proposal.

The monetary condition of the Sedley family goes from bad to worse.

Amelia has no money to gift Georgy on Christmas, so she sells one of the

exquisite shawls that Dobbin had sent for her from India. She buys new

clothes and books for Georgy from the money obtained. But her mother is

thoroughly disappointed. According to her, Amelia should not spend lavishly

on her son’s books and on providing him with other luxuries, when they

don’t have enough money to live. The main reasons for this poor financial

condition of the Sedleys are; the money sent by Jos does not arrive,

Amelia’s pension is insufficient, and Mr. Sedley’s business always incurs

losses.

Amelia soon begins to feel guilty for her selfishness. She knows that,

Georgy will be provided for in a better manner in his grandfather’s house.

She realizes that she cannot do very much for her son and is afraid that

she may have to part with him.

Chapter 47 Gaunt House

Tom Eaves, an inhabitant of Vanity Fair, tells the narrator about the

history of Lord Styne’s family. Lord Styne an extremely affluent man, has a

brief unhappy married life and due to a low- spirited wife, he is lured by

pleasures and merriment. His son George loses his mental balance due to a

disease that runs in their family and of which Lord Styne is petrified. To

escape his fears, he throws lavish balls and invites everyone. In spite of

all his notorious and immoral escapades, everyone belonging to the high

society attends his parties.

Chapter 48 In which the reader is introduced to the very best of

company.

Becky is rewarded with a chance to go to Court with Sir Pitt and Lady

Jane. She is dazzling in her best clothes and large diamonds which Sir Pitt

secretly gives her. Rawdon goes in his old shabby uniform, which is now too

tight for him. Becky therefore achieves her aim in life.

Lord Styne is a frequent visitor at Rebecca’s place, but he feels

uneasy in the presence of Miss Briggs. He asks Becky to send her away, but

Becky replies that she will not be able to do so, as she owes Miss Briggs

some money. Becky then quotes almost double the amount. Later, Lord Styne

sends her a check and an invitation for dinner. Rebecca buys Briggs a

beautiful, silk gown and pays Raggles and her coachman fifty pounds each to

silence them for sometime. The rest she keeps for herself.

Chapter 49 In which we enjoy three courses and a Dessert.

Lord Styne receives great opposition from his family, for wanting to

invite Rebecca Crawley for his party. His mother-in- law being Lady

Bareacres, this opposition is not surprising. Rebecca is eventually

invited. Though in the former part of the evening she is not very

successful, she enchants Lady Styne by singing sweetly for her.

Chapter 50 Contains a vulgar incident.

After a lot of pondering, Amelia decides to send Georgy to his

grandfather. At this decision, Mr. Osborne sends her a hundred pounds.

Georgy is excited to go to his new lavish home. After he is gone, Amelia is

sad and depressed. He comes often to meet her and on other days, she walks

up to his house and watches the window of his room.

Amelia still does not know that it is not Jos who has stopped sending

money, but it is her father who has already sold away Jos’s future

allowances for his unsuccessful businesses.

Chapter 51 In which a charade is acted which may or may not puzzle the

reader.

Becky gets more and more popular in the aristocratic circle. In a

party at Gaunt House, Becky participates in the charades. The audience is

spell bound with Becky’s performance. After the charade, Becky is placed at

a grand exclusive table, with all the distinguished guests, and eats out of

a gold plate.

At the end of the party, Becky leaves by carriage while Rawdon prefers to

walk. On the way, he is arrested on account of an unpaid debt.

Chapter 52 In which Lord Styne shows himself a most amiable light.

This chapter is a flashback. Due to the generosity of Lord Styne,

little Rawdon is sent to a very good school. His father misses him during

his absence and longs for him to return home on Saturdays. Rawdon’s

relationship with Becky is growing more and more estranged.

One day Lord Styne, in a conversation with Miss Briggs realizes that

Becky had told him a falsehood and taken double the amount she needed,

giving none of it to Miss Briggs. When he questions Becky about this, she

tells him another lie, where she puts the entire blame on Rawdon’s greed

and his constant bullying asking her to ask Styne for money.

Lady Jane warns Rawdon to keep an eye on Becky’s activities. Lord

Styne gives Miss Briggs a better place, that of a housekeeper at Gauntly

Hall. Rawdon orders Becky to refuse invitations, which are only for her and

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