All’s ‘Fair’ in Raw Ambition

The centerpiece of the A&E; and BBC miniseries “Vanity Fair” is Becky Sharp (Natasha Little), one of the most manipulative social climbers in literary history. During the Napoleonic wars, this penniless orphan, makes her way by hook or by crook into London’s high society.

“Vanity Fair,” based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s classic satire about Victorian England society, is a “very sort of masculine, unbuttoned view of the world,” offers Andrew Davies, who wrote the miniseries, which begins Sunday. During the past decade, Davies has become one of the premier adapters of British literature, having written the teleplays for the acclaimed productions of “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma” and “A Rather English Marriage,” to name a few.

“[Thackeray’s] attitude is nobody’s perfect, and you’d be the same if you were there,” says Davies. “He’s got a kind of disillusioned affection for all of his characters. He shows the good and the bad of all of them.”

“Vanity Fair” also stars Nathaniel Parker, as Becky’s husband, the handsome officer Rawdon Crawley; Frances Grey as her friend, Amelia Sedley, the sheltered, sweet daughter of a rich city merchant; and Miriam Margoyles, as Miss Crawley, the eccentric, rich aunt of Rawdon.

“We’ve all known people like Becky,” says Davies.

Still, the writer thought it was necessary to show why Becky behaves the way she does. He insisted on keeping Thackeray’s prologue, which chronicles Becky’s hideous childhood.

“She was brought up by a drunken father in the studios of SoHo,” Davies says. “She’s always scared she’s going to be dropped right through the net, so she takes every chance she can get.”

Director Marc Munden (“Touching Evil”) found Becky to be quite contemporary: “She’s very much a modern phenomenon in creating her own legend.”

“There is a real link between Becky Sharp and so many of these young women on the make who become famous for being famous,” echoes Davies. “They use their sex appeal to find their career.”

Little (“Far From the Madding Crowd’) held Becky in true affection. “I would read the script or go back to the book and she was still making me laugh,” says the actress.

Though Becky is manipulative, treacherous and selfish, Little found a lot about her to like. “She never is self-pitying,” Little explains. “She is a complete opportunist. If there is a tiny chink of an opportunity anywhere she’ll jump on it and manipulate any situation to her best advantage. When things go wrong, she doesn’t wallow in it. She gets on with it.”

Initially, Little auditioned for the role of Amelia. Never having read the book before, she originally thought the miniseries had something to do with the popular monthly magazine of the same name.

When Little was told it was an adaptation of the Thackeray classic novel, she went home and read it from Amelia’s point of view. “I remember thinking she’s such a noble character,” Little recalls. “She’s so full of generosity and isn’t she wonderful that she tolerates the behavior of this appalling woman Becky Sharp.”

Eventually, director Munden called her back to audition for Becky. “So I reread the book, and of course I read it with a complete lack of loyalty to Amelia that could only be matched by Becky Sharp.”

Davies points out that “Vanity Fair” was quite a shocker when it was published. “People thought it was very bad of Thackeray to write about such things, to come out in the open about respectable married men having mistresses and things like that. Nobody was suppose to mention it in Victorian times. Of course, Victorian England was a very randy sort of place.”

Munden wanted “Vanity Fair” to resemble the political cartoons of 18 and 19th century England. “It was really sort of my starting-off point,” he says. “It should be quite grotesque and in your face and at the same time, you should understand what these characters are about.”

Little admires the fact that “Vanity Fair” does not end neatly. “It’s very gritty and it’s not chocolate boxy at all,” she points out.

“There are very strong similarities with ‘Gone With the Wind,’ but I think that Scarlett O’Hara is kind of moralized at the end,” Little says. “But with Becky, you feel that they would be reading the last rites over her body and she would, if there was a breath left in her, be stealing the rosary. She never gives up.”

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“Vanity Fair” will air Sunday and Monday at 5 and 9 p.m. on A&E.; The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages).