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The Luck of Barry Lyndon was first published as a serial in Fraser’s Magazine, then later as a complete volume entitled The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq.—a title Thackeray disliked, but that was selected by his publisher. Thackeray had great difficulty composing the novel, and found himself frequently frustrated in his attempts to get Barry out of yet another jam. Ultimately he was displeased with his work, and considered it one of his lesser novels.
Despite Thackeray’s neglect, Barry Lyndon is a bright satire filled with many genuinely funny moments. Barry is the quintessential unreliable narrator, and through his outrageous boasts and tall tales he becomes not just the target of the satire, but its very agent as well. Fortunately modern critics have viewed Barry Lyndon in a much more favorable light than Thackeray’s contemporaries, and even Thackeray himself: today it’s considered by some critics as one of his finest works.
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Subjects
Irish, Irish in fiction, Rogues and vagabonds in fiction, Fiction, Gamblers, Europe in fiction, Gamblers in fiction, Classic Literature, Ireland in fiction, Rogues and vagabonds, Irish fiction, British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author), Southern states, biography, Poets, biography, Large type books, Satire, Humorous stories, Gamblers -- Fiction, Ireland -- Fiction, Europe -- Fiction, Rogues and vagabonds -- Fiction, Irish -- Foreign countries -- Fiction, Thackeray, william makepeace, 1811-1863, Irish--foreign countries--fiction, Rogues and vagabonds--fiction, Gamblers--fiction, Irish fiction--foreign countries, Pr5608.a2 s36 2008, 823.8, Literature and fiction (general)Places
Europe, Ireland, Foreign countriesTimes
18th CenturyShowing 11 featured editions. View all 54 editions?
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Set in late 18th century Europe the adventures and misadventures of a minor member of the Irish gentry trying to better himself. Redmond Barry of Bally Barry is a clever young man, who learns the manners of a gentleman. This serves him well, for the next few decades he meanders through Europe, as a soldier, mercenary, gambler, and vagabond. He reaches the pinnacle of worldly success by marriage to an English heiress, but disastrously squanders her fortune and good will.
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