William Makepeace Thackeray

Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the Revolutionary War. 'To endure is greater than to dare, to tire out hostile fortune, to be daunted by no difficulty, to keep heart when all have lost it, to go through intrigue spotless, to forgo even ambition when the end is gained: who can say this is not greatness?' The Virginians is a sequel to Henry Esmond, and tells the story of his twin grandsons, George and Henry Warrington. Both become...

The History of Henry Esmond is a historical novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, originally published in 1852. The book tells the story of the early life of Henry Esmond, a colonel in the service of Queen Anne of England. A typical example of Victorian historical novels, Thackeray's work of historical fiction tells its tale against the backdrop of late 17th- and early 18th-century England - specifically, major events surrounding the English Restoration...

The novel tells the story of Colonel Thomas Newcome, a virtuous and upstanding character. It is equally the story of Colonel Newcome's son, Clive. Colonel Newcome goes out to India for decades, then returns to England where Clive meets his cousin Ethel. After years in England, the colonel returns to India for another several years and while he is there, Clive travels Europe and his love for Ethel waxes and wanes.