Chapter Six

Abstract

Read in the context of Thackeray’s previous work, The Luck of Barry Lyndon; A Romance of the Last Century. By Fitz-Boodle (Fraser’s Magazine, Jan.-Sept., Nov.-Dec. 1844) seems a natural fictive extension of his experiences on the Continent and, more recently, in Ireland, as well as a further experiment in narration. Although the title leads us to expect a third-person narrative, when we discover that the narrative of Barry Lyndon is autobiographical, we understand that the words “By Fitz-Boodle” identify Fitz-Boodle as editor of Barry’s manuscript account. Fitz-Boodle, therefore, is the implied author of the narrative’s title, the fifteen often ironic chapter headings (which begin to appear in the second serial installment), fifteen annotative footnotes (two signed “ED.,” thirteen unsigned), an unsigned preface to Part II, and an unsigned epilogue to Part II Chapter 2, as well as a signed final epilogue.