Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Philip A Shabby Genteel Story; Catherine A Story Part One

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What an immensely enjoyable, close-written, small print, 640 page novel. But I think only a lover of Thackeray and/or that by-gone style of writing would have stuck it out. Me, I loved it. Thackeray's last book, and it shows, as his digressions occur on almost every page. Lots of Latin and French phrases, not translated. But the English class system as it was in 1860 is set forth to a tee, as is also their racial prejudice. The portrayal of the marriage of the narrator, who is Philip's friend, was quite marvelously written.
However, it must be stated that "A Shabby Genteel Story" was actually a novella written before "The Adventures of Philip". It needs to be read first in order to properly appreciate the background to the story of Philip.