The History of Henry Esmond

by William Makepeace Thackeray
Category: "Fiction - Historical"
Pages:415
Year of Publication:1852
Date Added:06/04/2020
Date Read:06/04/2020
Notes:Henry is a small boy who lives with his father, who is a marquis, and his stepmother. When his father dies, he ends up in the care of his uncle Castlewood and his wife Rachel. They have two children, Beatrix and Frank, the heir to the estate. Henry is loved and treated as one of the family. When his uncle is mortally wounded in a duel, he revels to Henry that his real father was married when Henry was born, making Henry the actual heir to the throne. Henry denounces the title in favor of Frank and goes off to the army to win fame as a means to winning Beatrix's heart, whom he has fallen in love with. She teases him and torments him but repeatedly gets engaged to and then breaks off with wealthier men. Finally Henry hits upon a plan he's sure will succeed. Queen Anne is near death and the nation is divided over whether George of Hanover or James IV will be the next king. Henry brings James back to England and hides him until the time is right for him to step forth and take the throne. Henry also conspires with great men around the kingdom who join him in his plot. But when the crucial moment has arrived, James is nowhere to be found. He had followed the lovely Beatrix into the country. Henry follows, but when he finds out that Beatrix encouraged James to flirt with her, his love for her disappears. The plot to make James king fails. Henry leaves for America, taking Rachel with him as his wife.
My Rating: 6

Reviews for The History of Henry Esmond

Review - History of Henry Esmond, The

Not a riveting read. Thackeray assumes that his readers know a lot more about British politics and military affairs than I knew, but I managed to keep fairly up with what was happening. Henry's maudlin pursuit of Beatrix also got a little old. I wasn't really clear about how much older than he Rachel was—it had to be at least 10 years by my calculations, but it seemed like they were a likely couple from the start.

Reviewed by Roger on 2020-06-04 15:02:04

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