The History of Henry Esmond (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

William Makepeace Thackeray (Author), John Sutherland (Editor), Michael Greenfield (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics

'What spectacle is more August than that of a great king in exile? Who is more worthy of respect than a brave man in misfortune'? When "Henry Esmond" appeared in 1852, noted writers and critics of the time acclaimed it as the best historical novel ever written. Set in the reign of Queen Anne, the story follows the troubled progress of a gentleman and an officer in Marlborough's army, as he painfully wrestles with an emotional allegiance to the old Tory-Catholic England until, disillusioned, he comes to terms of a kind with the Whiggish-Protestant future. This change also entails a very uncomfortable switch in his affections. The love story of Henry Esmond is charged with sombre, unconscious emotions, yet is skilfully embedded into historical events which are convincing but never too prominent.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Makepeace Thackeray was born in Calcutta in 1811, but sent to England at the age of six. He was educated at Charterhouse and at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1833 he settled in Paris, after a major financial loss, and tried a career as a painter. It was here he met nineteen-year-old Isabella Shawe, upon whom he based many of his virtuous but weak heroines, and whom he married in 1836. A year later they settled in London, where Thackeray turned seriously to journalism. His writing for periodicals included The Yellowplush Correspondence, which appeared first in Fraser's Magazine and then in 1841 in book form. Around this time personal and domestic pressures caused the already helpless Isabella to subside into a state of complete and permanent mental collapse and the subsequent breakdown of the marriage formed a central part of Thackeray's consciousness. His early work centred around rogues and villains, most famously in The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844; revised as The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. in 1856), and in his masterpiece, Vanity Fair, which appeared in monthly parts in 1847-8 and which most clearly reveals his socially satirical edge. The Book of Snobs, which originally appeared as a series in Punch, also attacks Victorian society with vicious wit. Thackeray's later novels include The History of Pendennis, (1848-50); The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. (1852); The Newcomes (1853-5); The Virginians, (1857-9), which is a sequel to Henry Esmond; and The Adventures of Philip (1860-62). He also wrote a series of lectures, The English Humourists of the Eighteenth Century (1853), and numerous reviews, articles and sketches, usually in the comic vein. From 1860 to 1862 he also edited the Cornhill magazine. Thackeray died suddenly on Christmas Eve, 1863. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Out of modesty, one supposes, the impossibly virtuous (and fictional) Henry Esmond narrates his adventures in the third person. Raised to believe himself a nobleman's love-child, he eventually discovers he is a legitimate heir. This knowledge he suppresses in favor of his near relations and benefactors, especially the Jacobite Lady Castlewood and her daughter, both of whom he loves devotedly, and one of whom he eventually marries. In the meantime, neither he nor his kin can escape the political, martial, and religious turmoil of Queen Anne's England. Published in 1852, this novel helped establish Thackeray as Charles Dickens's rival in popularity. Narrator Gordon Griffin, who has previously tackled both, here displays an enthusiastic sincerity that contributes much charm to his deep understanding of the tone and milieu of this novel. Though seeming to downplay the melancholy that seeps into the prose, he manages to convey it without letting it overwhelm the vigor of the writing. Y.R. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• ISBN-10: 0141439165
• ISBN-13: 978-0141439167
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, July 29, 2000

By 

David Snyder (Zurich, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. (English Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Although for some reason forgotten by the US public, "The History of Henry Esmond" is one of the finest books ever written in English language. May be it has lost its luster because it offers no excess of blood-spilling and sexual adventures, but instead finds its way to describe the deepest and most vulnerable chambers of the human heart. I have read a handful of books, be it in English, French, German or Russian, that described the human strengths and weaknesses while tying them to a character one can relate to with such skill. People who do not like it, it seems, are just shamed by the morals offered in such a book, and are quick to forget it. I read "Henry Esmond" when I was a young boy, and now, half a century later, it hasn't lost a beat.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the good ones seem to be out of print, July 8, 2003

By 

Maggie "maggie79" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Henry Esmond (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

The History of Henry Esmond begins with the sweet Lady Castlewood stumbling upon the lonely abandoned Henry as she tours her new home. Her husband has inherited the estate and his illegitimate 11-year old cousin Henry, is fearful of the reception he will receive from the new owners. Will they throw him out? Treat him like a servant? When they instead embrace him into their family (which includes their daughter Beatrix and son Frank) he is overjoyed. What he slowly begins to realize (as he first becomes their almost-son, and later the de facto head of the household) is that this blessing is more complex than it first appears.

Throughout the book, Henry longs for a family, and although he is a part of the Castlewood's, he is also always an outsider. They come to rely on him because they know he will sacrifice more for them then any real son or brother ever would. With every page, the Castlewood family becomes increasingly complex - some relationships are strengthened and some are slowly destroyed in such subtle ways that when a catastrophe comes, it seems inevitable, and at the same time, surprising. True motives are hidden and twisted and everybody longs for a kind of love not given. Through it all, we have Henry's narration (although he speaks of himself in the third person), which casts a lonely and reflective tone over all the events. A beautiful book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Esmond, June 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. (English Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

In the minds of some, justifiably the finest novel in the English language. The neglect this novel has suffered is appalling. Requirement: a mind for detail, a sympathy for history, an artistic sensibility. Read it at least twice. Only one reader in a thousand will remember the button reference on the last line. A pity that this book should be out-of-print. Pater thought it a perfect work of fiction. Trollope thought it was unsurpassed.