William Makepeace Thackeray
Thackeray's Vanity Fair remains the supreme achievement of Victorian social satire, its panoramic view of Regency society combined with an ironic narrator who undermines every sentimental convention. His historical novels, particularly Henry Esmond, show his versatility.
Works
- Vanity FairSatirical novel chronicling the social ascent and moral descent of ambitious Becky Sharp
- PendennisBildungsroman of a young man's ambitions, romantic entanglements, and gradual moral disillusionment
- Henry EsmondHistorical novel about an English gentleman in the reign of Queen Anne
- The NewcomesMulti-generational family saga exploring English society and social hierarchies
- Barry LyndonPicaresque novel of an Irish rogue's adventures and moral failings