Barnes Noble: 2826 books

In this collection of Dobson’s essays, the subjects range from the romantic and classical to the academic and humanitarian. Among other delights, the reader will walk with Warburton, Fielding, Pope, and Pitt on the grounds of the renowned Prior Park. Excitingly, the chapter on Fielding includes letters never before published.

This 1897 edition of Dobson's 1874 work was revised and extended by Griffin. It was originally intended to assist candidates in preparation for civil service examinations but under Griffin the volume took on a more general cast.  As he wrote in his introduction, "it is simply designed to give a concise...

Volume II of acclaimed history writer John Doran’s engrossing biographies of queens of England of the House of Hanover is invaluable reading for anyone passionate about English history and English royals. Here are the stories of the queens in the House of Hanover, in a series of skillfully drawn portraits—a...

Serialized from 1848-1850, The History of Pendennis is the coming-of-age story of Arthur Pendennis, a young country-born gentleman who travels to London to make his fortune.  There, as Thackeray depicts with his customary satirical flair, he finds work as a journalist and is drawn into the machinations of his scheming uncle, Major Pendennis. 

Roundabout Papers is a rich collection of columns that Thackerary wrote for Cornhill Magazine, a Victorian periodical and literary journal, and showcases his range of interests, thoughtful musings, and literary skills. Includes: “On a Lazy Idle Boy,” “Thorns in the Cushion,” “On a Joke I Once Heard from the Late Thomas Hood,” “A Mississippi Bubble,” and many more.

First published in serial form as The Luck of Barry Lyndon in 1844 and later reissued under the title  The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq., Thackeray’s picaresque novel abounds with the exploits and intrigues of Redmond Barry, a ruined member of the Irish gentry, who uses every means at his disposal to become a member of the English aristocracy.

Thackeray originated the modern meaning of the word “snob” in a series of essays for Punch magazine, the British humor periodical.  Those essays are collected in this volume.  With the organizational drive of a naturalist, Thackeray classifies the varied manifestations of snobbery in society—many of which remain all too common today.

A stolen crown, a rose, and a ring, which render their wearers beautiful, as well as a meddling fairy and  royal intrigue in imaginary countries – all come together in this 1854 fractured fairy tale of monarchy and its foibles. This comedic tale is a witty and sarcastic commentary on beauty, which Thackeray wrote to amuse his daughters.

Sir Richard Steele (1672–1729) was an Irish writer and politician who is best remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine The Spectator. This engaging biography of Steele, part of the authoritative English Men of Letters series, is an invaluable resource for students of history and literature.

This 1859 travelogue is based on Trollope's 1858 journey to Jamaica and the Caribbean on government business.  Along the way, he recorded his impressions of the places and people he encountered.  While its racial attitudes are very much of its time, they are, at least, of historical interest, and his character sketches are, as one would expect, both amusing and insightful.

“The Commentaries of Caesar are the beginning of modern history,” writes Trollope, “It is the object of this volume to describe Caesar’s commentaries for the aid of those who do not read Latin.” Trollope  breathes new life into the great Roman leader’s conquests, tracking him through Gaul, Britain, Spain, and elsewhere.

This 1922 history has as its object, in the author's words, "to enable the student or general reader to obtain . . . a picture of change and development during the hundred and twenty years when things . . . were undergoing a more rapid change of character than in any previous epoch of our annals."

This useful 1890 work recounts the history of England from the end of the Napoleonic War in 1815 to the peace of Paris in 1856, following the Crimean War. A balanced yet honest six-volume history, it is Walpole’s masterpiece. The third volume begins with a discussion of England’s foreign policy and...

The brilliant military career of John Churchill, the First Duke of Malrborough (1650-1722), spanned five monarchs and included shifting loyalties. This 1885 life story tries to correct the imbalance of previous biographies—giving ample space to each part  of the Duke’s life—and emphasizes his...