The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. A Colonel in the Service of Her Majesty Q. Anne. Written by Himself

London: Smith, Elder, & Company, 1852. First edition. Cloth. Very Good. 8" by 5.5". None. A first edition three volume set of Henry Esmond by Thackeray, in the original boards. Scarce and desirable in the publishers original cloth. First Edition. Three volumes, complete. With the 16pp advertisements to the rear of Volume III. William Makepeace Thackeray, 1811 – 1863, was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society. After his education, Thackeray travelled Europe, and then squandered his inheritance on gambling and unfortunate business enterprises. He turned to art, which he studied in Paris, but did not pursue the profession. After marrying Isabella Shawe, Thackeray took to writing and journalism to support himself and his family. His novels became moderately successful, along with his works for magazines such as Fraser"s Magazine, Foreign Quartley Review, Punch and the Morning Chornicle. It was not until later, with the publication of Vanity Fair and Henry Esmond, that Thackeray"s reputation grew. As the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography tells us, it is "on Esmond that Thackeray's fame as a historical novelist primarily rests… Set during the reign of Queen Anne, the novel focuses attention on the English revolution and on the conflicts over succession caused by William III and Anne having no surviving children... Henry Esmond, writes his memoirs in the twilight of his years on his estate in Virginia, a property he came to after all the events worth telling about his life have taken place... Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Henry's life is his successive discoveries that what he thought was true, wonderful, and good proves to be false, disappointing, and even evil… Thackeray once again plays off the narrator's insights against the reader's suspicions, giving readers one of the most thought-provoking and unsettling among Victorian novels." Bound in the publisher's original binding. Externally, smart. The bindings are firm. There is mild wear to the extremities, including mild bumping and discolouration, with marks to the boards and slight loss to the spine labels. The front hinge of volume I is strained. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are generally clean with some slight browning, and the odd spotting and handling marks. Very Good