Summary
Summary of Barry Lyndon
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Barry tells a flattering story
Redmond Barry tells his own life as though courage, charm and noble ancestors explain everything he does. An Irish rogue who later calls himself Barry Lyndon, he moves through armies, gaming tables and wealthy drawing rooms with great confidence and very little shame.
Yet his account gives readers reasons to doubt him. He can be brave and generous, but he is also a bully, a liar and a fortune hunter. The gap between his proud words and his actions is central to the novel.
Key idea 2
Wounded pride sends Redmond away
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Key idea 3
Deception becomes Redmond's first lesson
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Key idea 4
A stolen rank brings new captivity
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Key idea 5
An uncle offers a way out
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Key idea 6
Gambling turns ambition into a weapon
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Key idea 7
Lady Lyndon becomes his next pursuit
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Key idea 8
Splendour hides debt and cruelty
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Key idea 9
His words reveal more than intended
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who enjoy a charming scoundrel, sharp social comedy and wild adventure across Ireland, Prussia, the German courts and London, and who like a narrator they can never quite trust.
What this book is
Barry Lyndon is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, set in the eighteenth century and told as the memoir of an Irish rogue. Redmond Barry, who later calls himself Barry Lyndon, tells his own life with great pride and very little shame. He boasts of his royal ancestors, his duels, his looks and his generosity. The reader soon sees that the story he tells and the story the facts tell are not the same.
The book follows him from a poor Irish household through armies, gaming tables and the courts of Europe, and then into the richest drawing rooms of England. Thackeray wrote it to show a very different kind of hero from the noble young men of popular fiction. Barry is clever, brave and charming, and he is also a bully, a liar and a fortune hunter. Along the way you meet soldiers, spies, princes and one famously unhappy countess.
In this summary you will hear how he rises, how he schemes, and what the book is really doing with his voice. We begin where he does, in a small Irish town, with a boy, a cousin and a duel.
In this summary
- 1A proud boy and a fatal duelFree
- 2Dublin swindlers and a forced enlistment
- 3A soldier's life and a stolen name
- 4Spy, valet and clever escape
- 5Gambling at the courts of Europe
- 6The pursuit of Lady Lyndon
- 7Splendour, debt and a hated stepson
- 8What the story is really about
- 9How the book is told
Key point 1 of 9
A proud boy and a fatal duel
Redmond Barry grows up in Ireland with his mother, who was once the beauty of Dublin and now lives on very little. His father, Roaring Harry Barry, a gambler and horseman, died young and left nothing but debts and a good name. The boy believes the family were once great princes whose land was stolen by an English trick, and his mother feeds this belief every day.
Mother and son live in a small house they call Barryville, with a pedigree on the wall and a servant in borrowed livery. They are poor, but they dress as grandly as they can. Redmond is taught to dance, ride and fight, and he learns very little else. He leaves school after six weeks by throwing a slate at the master and running away.
His uncle Brady keeps a crumbling mansion nearby called Castle Brady. There Redmond falls hopelessly in love with his cousin Nora, who is older than he is and enjoys her power over him. She flirts with an English captain named Quin, who has money, and Redmond's jealousy grows until he leaps a horse and Nora off a bridge into a river.
When Nora's engagement to Captain Quin is announced, Redmond insults the captain and the two agree to fight. At sixteen he faces a man twice his size, and the pistols go off together. Redmond is told he has killed him and must flee at once under a false name, with twenty guineas and his father's sword. He rides away feeling proud, free and ready for fame.
This opening teaches you how to read the whole book. Redmond tells every event so that he looks brave and wronged. Watch what the other characters say and do around him, because they often say something quite different.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What does Redmond learn about his duel with Captain Quin?
Right. “The bullet was made of tow, Quin was never hurt, and the whole thing was arranged by the Bradys to get Redmond out of the way so Nora could marry the Englishman and her father's debts could be paid.”Not quite. “The bullet was made of tow, Quin was never hurt, and the whole thing was arranged by the Bradys to get Redmond out of the way so Nora could marry the Englishman and her father's debts could be paid.”
What is Redmond's real motive for pursuing Lady Lyndon?
Right. “Sir Charles laughs at it all and calls the Irishman her interesting young convert, but Redmond is plainly after the woman's money, and says so himself.”Not quite. “Sir Charles laughs at it all and calls the Irishman her interesting young convert, but Redmond is plainly after the woman's money, and says so himself.”
What creates much of the novel's comedy?
Right. “The comedy comes from the gap between what he says and what we see.”Not quite. “The comedy comes from the gap between what he says and what we see.”
Who’s who
- Redmond Barry
- An ambitious Irish adventurer and narrator, Barry pursues wealth and rank through soldiering, gambling, and his pursuit of Lady Lyndon.
- Lady Lyndon
- A wealthy married aristocrat, Lady Lyndon attracts Barry through her property and the social standing her position offers.
- The Chevalier de Balibari
- Barry’s Irish uncle is a professional gambler who introduces his nephew to fashionable European society.
- Lord Bullingdon
- Lady Lyndon’s son opposes Barry’s claims to authority and objects to his treatment of the family.
- Nora
- Barry’s cousin and early romantic interest, Nora draws his jealousy through her relationship with an army officer.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 129,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 8 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 12 other languages
Questions about Barry Lyndon
What is Barry Lyndon about?
It follows Redmond Barry, an Irish adventurer who fights in two armies, gambles at European courts and marries a wealthy English countess. He tells the story himself, boasting of his birth and bravery while the reader sees his faults.
Is Barry Lyndon a true story?
No. It is a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, set in the eighteenth century. Real places and public figures like Frederick the Great and the Seven Years War appear, but Barry, his family and his adventures are invented.
Is Barry Lyndon easy to read?
Yes in many ways. It has a lively, talkative voice, short scenes of duels, escapes and card games, and plenty of comedy. Each chapter moves to a new place or scheme, so the adventure keeps unfolding.
What is the main message of Barry Lyndon?
The book shows how pride, pretence and greed can win a man great success and still leave him hollow. It invites you to question who tells a story and why, and to look at the real cost of ambition.
