14 h 23 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 23 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a man’s proudest boasts reveal every reason not to trust him?
Redmond Barry has little money and a fierce belief that he deserves a gentleman’s life. In William Makepeace Thackeray’s satirical novel, the ambitious Irishman pursues wealth and rank across eighteenth-century Europe. Soldiering, gambling, and marriage all promise a way into the world he longs to claim.
The British army offers Barry neither the glory nor the independence he expects. His uncle, the gambler Chevalier de Balibari, opens another path into fashionable society. Then wealthy Lady Lyndon becomes the focus of his ambitions. Through it all, Barry tells his own story with pride, exposing the dishonesty he means to excuse.
What you’ll discover
- A rogue in full voice Hear Barry praise his own cleverness while his excuses reveal far more than he intends.
- War without the glory Follow an ambitious soldier into military life that refuses to match his grand expectations.
- Gambling on social rank Meet the Chevalier de Balibari, whose profession offers Barry an entrance into fashionable European society.
- Marriage as an ambition Watch Barry pursue Lady Lyndon’s wealth and position rather than the promise of partnership.
- Pride beneath the polish Enjoy dry humor that exposes the vanity behind Barry’s claims to courage, charm, and distinction.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy a charming rascal telling his own story, with sword fights, card tables, royal courts and sly comedy. It suits anyone who likes adventure and sharp satire.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy who boasts of kings and castles
- A jealous duel sends the boy away
- Ruin in Dublin and a soldier's coat
- Two armies and a stolen name
- A spy in Berlin meets his uncle
- Gambling life at the courts of Europe
- Chasing the rich Lady Lyndon
- Marriage, splendour and a hated stepson
- What the story is really about
- How the memoir is told
Who’s who
- Redmond BarryAn Irish boy of great vanity and nerve who tells the story and wants wealth, rank and the admiration of everyone he meets.
- Mrs. BarryRedmond's proud and fiercely loving mother, who gives up comfort so her son can look like a gentleman.
- Nora BradyRedmond's flirtatious cousin, who wants a rich husband and uses a boy's love for her own ends.
- Captain FaganA dry, kindly Irish officer who helps Redmond in the army and sees through the world's tricks.
- The Chevalier de BalibariRedmond's uncle Cornelius Barry, a rouged gambler in splendid clothes who teaches him the card tables.
- Lady LyndonHonoria, Countess of Lyndon, a rich, learned and nervous widow whom Redmond wants to marry for her fortune.
- Lord BullingdonLady Lyndon's proud young son, who despises his stepfather and wants to protect his mother and his name.
- Lord George PoyningsA young English nobleman and kinsman of Lady Lyndon, who stands in Redmond's way as a rival suitor.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
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Barry Lyndon
by William Makepeace Thackeray · 1844
An Irish rogue tells his own life story, and every page shows you what he leaves out.
Challenging10–20 hours to readDeutsch
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In short
What if the hero of a book tells you he is a gentleman, a soldier, a lover and a leader of fashion, and every page quietly shows you something else? That is the game of Barry Lyndon.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy who boasts of kings and castles
Redmond Barry opens his memoirs by announcing that the Barrys are the oldest and noblest family in Ireland. He says a woman once cost them everything, when a chief's daughter betrayed her own people's plot and the estate passed to an Englishman named Lyndon. Redmond tells it as a sacred wrong. Much later, he sets out to take that fortune back by marriage.
His father, Roaring Harry Barry, is a charming horseman and spendthrift who dies suddenly at the Chester races and leaves little beyond debts. Redmond's mother then takes her small son to her brother's home at Castle Brady, where the welcome soon cools.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1844
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Thackeray, William Makepeace. Barry Lyndon. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/barry-lyndon.
Thackeray, W. M. (2026). Barry Lyndon. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/barry-lyndon (Original work published 1844)
Thackeray, William Makepeace. Barry Lyndon. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/barry-lyndon.
@book{thackeray2026barry,
author = {Thackeray, William Makepeace},
title = {Barry Lyndon},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/barry-lyndon},
note = {First published 1844}
}
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What is Barry Lyndon about?
It tells the life of Redmond Barry, an Irish adventurer in the 1700s who fights duels, serves in two armies, gambles at royal courts and marries a rich countess. He tells it himself, in a boastful voice.
Is Barry Lyndon based on a true story?
No. It is a made-up memoir by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in the 1840s. It draws on real history, such as the Seven Years' War and the courts of Europe, and on the style of real adventurers' memoirs.
Who tells the story in Barry Lyndon?
Redmond Barry tells it himself, writing in his old age. A made-up editor adds short notes that correct his boasts, so you hear two voices and must judge which one to trust.
The author
William Makepeace Thackeray
1811–1863 · English Victorian novelist
William Makepeace Thackeray was a British novelist born in Calcutta, India, in 1811. He moved to England as a child and later lived in London. He wrote Catherine in 1839–1840, Barry Lyndon in 1844, Vanity Fair in 1847–1848, and The Rose and the Ring in 1855. He died in London in 1863.
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