The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., a Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne by William Makepeace Thackeray, book cover
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The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., a Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne

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457

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19 h 21 min · 43 parts

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  1. Preface & Introduction

    13:57

  2. Bk I intro & Bk I, ch 01: An Account of the Family of Esmond of Castlewood Hall

    19:33

  3. Bk I, ch 02: Relates how Francis, Fourth Viscount, arrives at Castlewood

    22:14

  4. Bk I, ch 03: Whither, in the time of Thomas, Third Viscount, I had preceded him as Page to Isabella

    30:32

  5. Bk I, ch 04: I am placed under a Popish Priest and bred to that Religion . . .Vicountess Castlewood

    15:48

  6. Bk I, ch 05: My Superiors are engaged in Plots for the Restoration of King James II

    25:31

  7. Bk I, ch 06: The Issue of the Plots.--The Death of Thomas, Third Viscount of Castlewood; and the Imprisonment of his Viscountess

    32:34

  8. Bk I, ch 07: I am left at Castlewood an Orphan, and find most kind Protectors there

    20:59

  9. Bk I, ch 08: After Good Fortune comes Evil

    21:49

  10. Bk I, ch 09: I have the Small-pox, and prepare to leave Castlewood

    58:11

  11. Bk I, ch 10: I go to Cambridge, and do but little Good there

    18:07

  12. Bk I, ch 11: I come home for a Holiday to Castlewood, and find a Skeleton in the House

    31:47

  13. Bk I, ch 12: My Lord Mohun comes among us for no Good

    23:49

  14. Bk I, ch 13: My Lord leaves us and his Evil behind him

    31:08

  15. Bk I, ch 14: We ride after him to London

    36:27

  16. Bk II, ch 01: I am in Prison, and Visited, but not Consoled there

    24:16

  17. Bk II, ch 02: I come to the End of my Captivity, but not of my Trouble

    22:58

  18. Bk II, ch 03: I take the Queen's Pay in Quin's Regiment

    24:01

  19. Bk II, ch 04: Recapitulations

    15:36

  20. Bk II, ch 05: I go on the Vigo Bay Expedition, taste Salt Water and smell Powder

    27:36

  21. Bk II, ch 06: The 29th December

    17:04

  22. Bk II, ch 07: I am made Welcome at Walcote

    24:13

  23. Bk II, ch 08: Family Talk

    16:33

  24. Bk II, ch 09: I make the Campaign of 1704

    25:36

  25. Bk II, ch 10: An Old Story about a Fool and a Woman

    22:58

  26. Bk II, ch 11: The famous Mr. Joseph Addison

    25:09

  27. Bk II, ch 12: I get a Company in the Campaign of 1706

    12:10

  28. Bk II, ch 13: I meet an Old Acquaintance in Flanders, and find my Mother's Grave, and my own Cradle there

    29:22

  29. Bk II, ch 14: The Campaign of 1707, 1708

    19:01

  30. Bk II, ch 15: General Webb wins the Battle of Wynendael

    62:05

  31. Bk III, ch 01: I come to an End of my Battles and Bruises

    35:05

  32. Bk III, ch 02: I go Home, and harp on the Old String

    36:50

  33. Bk III, ch 03: A Paper out of the "Spectator"

    52:48

  34. Bk III, ch 04: Beatrix's New Suitor

    26:51

  35. Bk III, ch 05: Mohun appears for the Last Time in this History

    40:36

  36. Bk III, ch 06: Poor Beatrix

    12:15

  37. Bk III, ch 07: I visit Castlewood once more

    24:30

  38. Bk III, ch 08: I travel to France and bring Home a Portrait of Rigaud

    25:14

  39. Bk III, ch 09: The Original of the Portrait comes to England

    34:44

  40. Bk III, ch 10: We entertain a very Distinguished Guest at Kensington

    32:42

  41. Bk III, ch 11: Our Guest quits us as not being Hospitable enough

    22:14

  42. Bk III, ch 12: A great Scheme, and who Balked it

    12:54

  43. August 1, 1714

    33:30

The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., a Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Queen Anne (1852) is a public domain work.

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About this book

Thackeray set this memoir-style novel in the reign of Queen Anne and wrote it in a careful pastiche of early eighteenth-century prose. Henry Esmond, an orphan taken in by the Castlewood family, grows up loyal to them even after he learns that he, not his patrons, is the family's rightful heir. He keeps the secret, serves under Marlborough in the wars against France, and edges into the Jacobite plots to restore the Stuarts. Running through it all is his long, painful devotion to the beautiful and heartless Beatrix, and his quieter bond with her mother, Rachel. Thackeray thought it his most finished book, and readers have long admired its restraint and its melancholy sense of how love and history disappoint us. Free to read here as a PDF and EPUB edition.

About the author

William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was an English novelist celebrated for his satirical portraits of society. Vanity Fair, his masterpiece, is one of the great novels of the nineteenth century.

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Book facts

Pages
457
Language
English
Formats
PDF, EPUB, Read online, Audiobook