14 h 23 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 353 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 353 pagesAbout 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
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’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A proud boy and a fatal duel
- Dublin swindlers and a forced enlistment
- A soldier's life and a stolen name
- Spy, valet and clever escape
- Gambling at the courts of Europe
- The pursuit of Lady Lyndon
- Splendour, debt and a hated stepson
- What the story is really about
- How the book is told
Who’s who
- Redmond Barry (Barry Lyndon)A proud, handsome Irish adventurer who tells his own life and wants rank, wealth and admiration at any cost.
- Mrs. BarryRedmond's fierce, fashionable mother, who believes in his greatness and spends everything she has to support it.
- Nora BradyRedmond's cousin and first love, a flirt who enjoys her power over a boy and marries for money.
- The Chevalier de BalibariRedmond's uncle, a gambler and soldier of fortune who helps him escape Prussia and teaches him how to live by cards.
- Lady LyndonThe Countess of Lyndon, a rich and learned widow of romantic habits who is pursued and then married by Barry.
- Lord BullingdonLady Lyndon's proud, dark-haired son, who refuses to accept Barry as a father and burns with a stern sense of honour.
- Captain FaganA dry, kindly Irish officer who helps young Redmond in his first duel and offers rare friendship in the army.
- Bryan LyndonBarry and Lady Lyndon's spoiled, high-spirited little son, whom Barry loves above everything and wants to make a lord.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
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- Audiobook
- 14 h 23 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 353 pages: USD 12.95 when you start free, USD 18.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 353 pages: USD 19.95 when you start free, USD 25.95 on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Barry Lyndon
by William Makepeace Thackeray · 1844
An Irish boy with a sword and a talent for lies fights, deserts and gambles his way toward a countess's fortune.
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In short
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.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
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.
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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.
Why is Barry Lyndon called an unreliable narrator?
Barry tells his own life and always makes himself the hero. He explains away cruelty and lies, and footnotes from an editor hint at the truth. The fun lies in spotting the gap between his version and what really happens.
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.
More by William Makepeace Thackeray
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