In this sweeping novel that spans decades, Thackeray tells of the virtuous and upstanding Colonel Thomas Newcome and of his son Clive. After Clive's mother dies, he is sent to school and studies his true passion, art. Set in the mid 1800s, the novel explores the theme of life repeating itself from one generation to the next—for example, the tendency to sacrifice love in favor of marrying for financial security or for social position. A masterful portrayal of life and satire of snobbery in the early Victorian age.