William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863)
Vanity Fair: a novel without a hero
London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848
LD.29.105, p. 279

The subtitle of Thackeray’s masterpiece is exemplified by the character of Jos Sedley. Sojourning in Brussels in the spring of 1815, the civilian Jos grows a moustache and wears a gold-laced cap to give himself a fashionable military appearance; but on hearing reports of British reverses following Napoleon’s invasion of the Netherlands, and panicking at the prospect of being mistaken for a soldier and killed by the advancing French, he hurriedly summons his valet to remove the incriminating facial hair.