1906. Vanity Fair is Thackeray's masterpiece, but he also showed great skill in writing historical fiction with fine attention to period manners and customs and a dispassionate sympathy for his character's actions. Considered by some to be one of the finest novels in the English language, The History of Henry Esmond, opens with Lady Castlewood stumbling upon Henry, the illegitimate cousin her husband has inherited along with his estate. They welcome Henry as part of their family, but as time goes on he begins to believe that this blessing may be more complex than appears at first glance. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.