Take a satirical tour through the social climbing and affectations of 19th-century British society in this biting collection of sketches. The author categorizes the various species of pretenders, from military boasters to clerical hypocrites, with an unparalleled eye for human folly. Originally published in Punch, these essays dissect the obsession with rank and status that plagued the Victorian era. It is a humorous yet scathing critique that asks the reader to examine their own tendencies toward admiring the unworthy.