Pendennis

The History of, a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, published in 1848-1850. It was Thackeray's second long story and was begun immediately after the conclusion of Vanity Fair. It was published in installments. The first number, November, 1848, appeared in a bright yellow cover bearing the full title--The History of Pendennis, His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy. Below the title appeared a drawing by the author representing a youth for whom the personified powers of good and evil were contending. Pendennis is rather more simple in plot than Thackeray's other novels. The development of the character of Arthur Pendennis forms the theme of the story which is believed to be autobiographical to some extent. Pendennis is a thoroughly human youth, good-natured generous, but faulty. The closing sentences of Pendennis present the spirit in which the whole was written:

We own, and see daily, how the false and worthless live and prosper, while the good are called away, and the dear and young perish untimely--we perceive in every man's life the maimed happiness, the frequent falling, the boot-less endeavor, the struggle of Right and Wrong; in which the strong often succumb and the swift fail: we see flowers of good blooming in foul places, as, in the most lofty and splendid fortunes, flaws of vice and meanness, and stains of evil; and, knowing how mean the best of us is let us give a hand of charity to Arthur Pendennis, with all his faults and shortcomings, who does not claim to be a hero, but only a man and a brother.