The History of Henry Esmond

Written by William Makepeace Thackeray

Narrated by Gordon Griffin

Set in the reign of Queen Anne, Thackeray's novel follows the troubled progress of Henry Esmond Esq, a gentleman and an officer in Marlborough's army. Enamoured of the Jacobite Lady Castlewood and her wayward daughter Beatrix, he distinguishes himself in Marlborough's campaigns against Louis XIV, but comes to grief in an ingenious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to despose George I in favour of the Old Pretender. He continues to wrestle with an emotional allegiance to the Old Tory-Catholic England until, disillusioned, he comes eventually to terms with the whiggish-Protestant future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Aug 1, 2003
• ISBN: 9781445058511

William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray was a nineteenth century English novelist who was most famous for his classic novel, Vanity Fair, a satirical portrait of English society. With an early career as a satirist and parodist, Thackeray shared a fondness for roguish characters that is evident in his early works such as Vanity Fair, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, and Catherine, and was ranked second only to Charles Dickens during the height of his career. In his later work, Thackeray transitioned from the satirical tone for which he was known to a more traditional Victorian narrative, the most notable of which is The History of Henry Esmond. Thackeray died in 1863.