Barry Lyndon

Set in the 18th century Barry Lyndon is the fictional autobiography of an adventurer and rogue. Born into the petty Irish gentry and outmanouevred in his first love-affair a ruined Barry volunteers for the British army. After seeing service in Germany he deserts and following a brief spell as a spy pursues the career of a gambler in the dissolute clubs and courts of Europe. In a determined effort to enter fashionable society he marries a titled heiress only to find himself easily outwitted. This is a masterful work of fiction reflecting Thackeray's belief that true art can represent a subject however unpleasant with accuracy and wit without moralising.