Cover of The Rose and the Ring by William Makepeace Thackeray Audiobook The Rose and the Ring
Audiobook · Sovereign

The Rose and the Ring

Author
William Makepeace Thackeray
Read by
Eloise Fairfax
Language
English
Length
3 hours 6 minutes
ISBN
9781802569407
Published
19 October 2025
Imprint
Sovereign
  • essays
  • Victorian
  • satire
  • humor
  • social commentary
  • literature
  • travel
  • domestic life
  • periodical
  • prose

All titles

Description

The Rose and the Ring is a satirical fairy tale set in the fictional kingdoms of Paflagonia and Crim Tartary, where magic roses and rings reveal true worth beneath royal pretense. Through whimsical adventures, mistaken identities, and comical court intrigues, Thackeray lampoons vanity, ambition, and social hierarchy. Woven with irony and moral wit, the story champions humility and genuine virtue over birthright and flattery, all delivered in a playful, mock-heroic style originally crafted as a Christmas entertainment for children—but rich with adult satire.

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.

More by William Makepeace Thackeray

Other editions