Cover of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray Ebook Barry Lyndon
Ebook · Sovereign

Barry Lyndon

Author
William Makepeace Thackeray
Language
English
Length
320 pages
ISBN
9781802569186
Published
8 October 2025
Imprint
Sovereign
  • vanity
  • satire
  • social pretension
  • comedy
  • humiliation
  • fashion
  • folly
  • manners
  • 19th-century
  • absurdity

Description

Barry Lyndon follows the cunning rise and tragic fall of an Irish rogue who schemes his way into wealth, nobility, and high society through deception, duels, and marriage. Narrated with ironic detachment, Thackeray’s novel exposes the hypocrisy and moral emptiness of 18th-century aristocracy. Despite fleeting success, Barry’s ambition, pride, and recklessness lead to ruin, exile, and despair. A masterful blend of picaresque adventure and social satire, the story critiques the illusion of class and the corrupting nature of power, all rendered with Thackeray’s signature wit and moral complexity.

Author

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) wrote Vanity Fair and a satirical England of snobs, soldiers, and Becky Sharp. Born in Calcutta, ruined young, he learned the world as a magazine man and then painted it at novel length. The narrator winks; the damage is real. Thirty-one titles here — more Fair than the one book everyone names. He drew as well as he wrote, and he never quite forgave society for being as silly as it is.

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