“How hard it is to make an Englishman acknowledge that he is happy!”
Pendennis. Book ii. Chap. xxxi, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Quotes from book
Pendennis
The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th-century England, particularly in London. The main hero is a young English gentleman Arthur Pendennis, who is born in the country and sets out for London to seek his place in life and society. The novel took two years for Thackeray to write and, in line with other Thackeray's works, most notably Vanity Fair, it offers an insightful and satiric picture of human character and aristocratic society. The characters include the snobbish social hanger-on Major Pendennis and the tipsy Captain Costigan. Miss Amory and Sir Francis Clavering are somewhat reminiscent of Becky Sharp and Sir Pitt from Vanity Fair.
Pendennis: At the Church Gate, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
The History of Pendennis (1848-1850)
