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Chapter companions for The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray.

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  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    Thackeray dedicates his book to the Right Honorable William Bingham, Lord Ashburton, acknowledging their friendship and explaining that the volume will reach him while the author is traveling to America.

  2. Chapter 2

    The History of Henry Esmond

    The opening chapter introduces Henry Esmond's early life as an orphan, his arrival at Castlewood, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his parentage and the death of Thomas, the third Viscount. It establishes the key relationships with the Castlewood family, including Lady Castlewood and her children, and hints at the political and religious tensions of the era.

  3. Chapter 3

    Book I: The Early Youth of Henry Esmond, Up to the Time of His Leaving Trinity College, in Cambridge

    The narrator reflects on the nature of history and its tendency to focus on kings and courtly affairs, contrasting it with the more familiar, human realities of life. He introduces the Esmond family's loyalist history, detailing the sacrifices of the old Lord Castlewood for the Stuart cause, and meditates on the dignity and degradation of exile and misfortune.

  4. Chapter 4

    An Account of the Family of Esmond of Castlewood Hall

    In 1691, the new Lord and Lady Castlewood arrive at Castlewood Hall. Lady Castlewood discovers a lonely twelve-year-old boy, Henry Esmond, in the book-room. She shows him kindness, and he is welcomed by the family, including their daughter Beatrix and the young heir. Henry, an orphaned kinsman, finds new protectors and a sense of belonging.

  5. Chapter 5

    II: Relates How Francis, Fourth Viscount, Arrives at Castlewood

    This chapter details the lineage and inheritance of the Castlewood title, focusing on the rivalry between Thomas Esmond and his cousin Frank Esmond. Thomas, a dissolute and impoverished younger son, converts to Catholicism and reconciles with his uncle, Lord Castlewood, to marry his aging cousin Isabel for her fortune and jewels. The marriage produces a sickly son who dies shortly after being touched by the king, leaving the couple childless. Meanwhile, Frank Esmond, who had rejected Isabel, marries a favored court lady and has a daughter, with another child on the way. The chapter also recounts the family's history of loyalty to the Stuart cause, their sacrifices, and the eventual arrival of Francis, the fourth Viscount, at Castlewood.

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  1. Chapter 6Whither in the Time of Thomas, Third Viscount, I Had Preceded Him as Page to Isabella
  2. Chapter 7IV: I Am Placed Under a Popish Priest and Bred to That Religion—Viscountess Castlewood
  3. Chapter 8My Superiors Are Engaged in Plots for the Restoration of King James II
  4. Chapter 9The Issue of the Plots—The Death of Thomas, Third Viscount of Castlewood; and the Imprisonment of His Viscountess
  5. Chapter 10I Am Left at Castlewood an Orphan, and Find Most Kind Protectors There
  6. Chapter 11VIII: After Good Fortune Comes Evil
  7. Chapter 12IX: I Have the Smallpox, and Prepare to Leave Castlewood
  8. Chapter 13X: I Go to Cambridge, and Do but Little Good There
  9. Chapter 14I Come Home for a Holiday to Castlewood, and Find a Skeleton in the House
  10. Chapter 15My Lord Mohun Comes Among Us for No Good
  11. Chapter 16My Lord Leaves Us and His Evil Behind Him
  12. Chapter 17XIV: We Ride After Him to London
  13. Chapter 18Book II: Contains Mr. Esmond’s Military Life, and Other Matters Appertaining to the Esmond Family
  14. Chapter 19I: I Am in Prison, and Visited, but Not Consoled There
  15. Chapter 20II: I Come to the End of My Captivity, but Not of My Trouble
  16. Chapter 21III: I Take the Queen's Pay in Quin's Regiment
  17. Chapter 22IV: Recapitulations
  18. Chapter 23V: I Go on the Vigo Bay Expedition, Taste Saltwater and Smell Powder
  19. Chapter 24VI: The 29th December
  20. Chapter 25VII: I Am Made Welcome at Walcote
  21. Chapter 26VIII: Family Talk
  22. Chapter 27IX: I Make the Campaign of 1704
  23. Chapter 28X: An Old Story About a Fool and a Woman
  24. Chapter 29XI: The Famous Mr. Joseph Addison
  25. Chapter 30XII: I Get a Company in the Campaign of 1706
  26. Chapter 31I Meet an Old Acquaintance in Flanders, and Find My Mother's Grave and My Own Cradle There
  27. Chapter 32XIV: The Campaign of 1707, 1708
  28. Chapter 33General Webb Wins the Battle of Wynendael
  29. Chapter 34Book III: Containing the End of Mr. Esmond’s Adventures in England
  30. Chapter 35I: I Come to an End of My Battles and Bruises
  31. Chapter 36II: I Go Home, and Harp on the Old String
  32. Chapter 37III: A Paper Out of the Spectator
  33. Chapter 38Beatrix's New Suitor
  34. Chapter 39Mohun Appears for the Last Time in This History
  35. Chapter 40VI: Poor Beatrix
  36. Chapter 41VII: I Visit Castlewood Once More
  37. Chapter 42VIII: I Travel to France and Bring Home a Portrait of Rigaud
  38. Chapter 43The Original of the Portrait Comes to England
  39. Chapter 44We Entertain a Very Distinguished Guest at Kensington
  40. Chapter 45XI: Our Guest Quits Us as Not Being Hospitable Enough
  41. Chapter 46A Great Scheme, and Who Balked It
  42. Chapter 47XIII: August 1st, 1714
  43. Chapter 48Endnotes