by William Makepeace Thackeray
First published 2006
Redmond Barry isn't born to wealth—but he'll stop at nothing to acquire it. After a disastrous duel and hasty escape, he reinvents himself as a professional gambler, seducing and swindling aristocrats across Europe. When he marries into nobility through calculated charm, Barry believes he's finally secured his place among the privileged. But social climbing has brutal consequences, and each manipulation brings him closer to a spectacular downfall. His ambition will cost him everything: family, fortune, and ultimately, his own humanity.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-mobility, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London
Period: 19th-Century
220 pages · Paperback · Echo Library