William Makepeace Thackeray
1) Vanity fair
The Luck of Barry Lyndon is a picaresque novel about a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy. Thackeray, who based the novel on the life and exploits of the Anglo-Irish rake and fortune-hunter Andrew Robinson Stoney, later reissued it under the title The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. (from Wikipedia)
I burst out in a scornful laugh. "THAT!" I say; "he is a captain of dragoons, and his father an attorney in Bedford Row. The whiskers of a roturier, my good Lankin, grow as long as the beard of a Plantagenet. It don't require much noble blood to learn the polka. If you were younger, Lankin, we might go for a shilling a night, and dance every evening at M. Laurent's Casino, and skip about in a little time as well as that
...Set in 19th century London, England, this novel features a young English gentleman Arthur Pendennis born in the country who sets out to seek his place in life and society. In line with other Thackeray's works, Pendennis offers an insightful and satiric picture of human character and aristocratic society. The masterful characterizations include the snobbish Major Pendennis and the tipsy Captain Costigan.
Based on historical events, this tale from the imagination of beloved English author William Makepeace Thackeray blends his trademark wit and spot-on satire with an engaging mystery. A must-read for fans of closely observed social satire and lovers of Thackeray's other works, such as Vanity Fair and The Rose and the Ring. (Source: Wikipedia)
Primarily a travel diary, the author had a keen eye for humour and a turn of phrase that will attract many. Travelling from Dublin through Kildare, Wicklow, Cork, Galway, Killarney and many more locations, and back once more to Dublin, this book paints a portrait of Ireland, in the 1840's prior to the Famine. (Source: Amazon)
10) Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift, pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff, was an Anglo-Irish author, who was the foremost prose satirist in the English language. This is Thackeray's essay on him.
The Luck of Barry Lyndon was first published as a serial in Fraser’s Magazine, then later as a complete volume entitled The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq.—a title Thackeray disliked, but that was selected by his publisher. Thackeray had great difficulty composing the novel, and found himself frequently frustrated in his attempts to get Barry out of yet another jam. Ultimately he was displeased with his work, and considered
...13) Burlesques
15) The Virginians
Napoleon has England on edge. For the cunning and conniving Becky Sharp, it’s an opportunity to take advantage of the chaos and improve her lowly station. Her friend Amelia Sedley, a blue-blood pawn, affords Becky entrée into the moneyed class. As the guileless Amelia pines for a rakish soldier, the ruthless Becky climbs upward, setting the stage for a domestic battlefield of greed, ambition, deception, and dizzying reversals of love
...18) Men's Wives
Men's Wives (1852) is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Thackeray was an English novelist, author and illustrator, who was born in India. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of British society, and the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, which was adapted for a 1975 film by Stanley Kubrick. (Source: Wikipedia)