A Little Dinner at Timmins's

"A Little Dinner at Timmins's" by William Makepeace Thackeray is a humorous story set in Victorian London, which makes fun of the middle class's desire to climb the social ladder. The story follows the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Fitzroy Timmins as they plan a fancy dinner party to show off their high-class status to important guests, like an Earl and Countess. Mrs. Timmins is excited and somewhat unaware that she is facing increasing economic difficulty, while Mr. Timmins, a lawyer, worries about the cost. Their attempts to create a perfect evening lead to funny mishaps and embarrassments during the party. In the end, their efforts to impress reveal how pointless their social games are, leaving them broke and reconsidering whether their social ambitions are worth the trouble.