The History of Henry Esmond, Esquire (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: William Makepeace Thackeray
- First Published: 1852
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Historical
- Time of Work: Late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries
- Setting: England and the Low Countries
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction
- Subjects: Memory, Love or romance, Marriage, Manners or customs, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Seventeenth century, Inheritance or succession, Kings, queens, or royalty, Soldiers, Duels or dueling, Battles, Nobility, Debtors or creditors, Throne restoration
- Locales: Cambridge, England, Chelsea, London, England
Characters Discussed
Henry Esmond, an orphan believed to be the illegitimate son of the late Thomas Esmond, Lord Castlewood. He is seen first as a grave, observant boy and later as an intelligent, levelheaded young man. The novel, though narrated in the third person, takes the form of his memoirs, beginning when he is twelve years old and continuing until his early manhood and marriage. A lonely boy under the guardianship of his kinsman, Francis Esmond, Viscount Castlewood, Henry spends his adolescence at the Castlewood estate. The untimely death of Viscount Castlewood, fatally...
[The entire page is 956 words long]
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