William Makepeace Thackeray

Easton Press William Makepeace Thackeray books

Vanity Fair, A Novel without a Hero - 100 Greatest Books Ever Written - 1979

The Rose and The Ring - The Collector's Library of Famous Editions - 1991

Franklin Library William Makepeace Thackeray books

Vanity Fair - 100 Greatest Books of All Time - 1977

Vanity Fair - World's Best Loved Books - 1979

Vanity Fair, A Novel Without a Hero - Oxford Library of The World's Greatest Books - 1984

Author William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was an English author who was born in Calcutta India. His father Richmond Thackeray was secretary of the East India Trading Company who passed away when William was only 4 years old. At the age of 18 William Makepeace Thackeray attended the Cambridge Trinity College, and left after only 2 years.

Following his time at Trinity College, William Makepeace Thackeray travelled for a brief time. During his travels he was introduced to German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Weimar. Following his travels in Europe he returned to England and studied Law for a short time. In the years that followed, William Makepeace Thackeray attempted a career as an artist before finally entering journalism. Following two failed attempts at funding his own newspapers, he worked for Fraser's Magazine and other publications. In 1836 he married Isabella Gethin Shawe who after having three children with William Makepeace Thackeray became mentally ill and eventually committed.

As a writer William Makepeace Thackeray contributed many satirical articles to various newspapers, however he is best known for his masterpiece Vanity Fair. In Vanity Fair he was able to capture a true sense of upper English society during the period. Due to the importance of this novel William Makepeace Thackeray is considered one of the greatest authors in English Literature. While Vanity Fair is his most important work, his first success in literature was the publication of The Yellowplush Papers in Fraser's magazine. In the years following The Yellowplush Papers, he published numerous other novels through Fraser's including the novels Catherine, and The Luck of Barry Lyndon. 

 

Among the novels by William Makepeace Thackeray are:
The Yellowplush Papers - 1837
A Shabby Genteel Story - 1840
Catherine - 1840
The Irish Sketchbook - 1843
The Luck of Barry Lyndon - 1844
Stray Papers - 1821 to 1847
Vanity Fair - 1848
The Book of Snobs - 1848
Rebecca and Rowena - 1850
Pendennis – 1850
The Paris Sketchbook - 1852
The History of Henry Esmond - 1852
Men's Wives - 1852
The Rose and the Ring - 1855
The Newcomes - 1855
The Virginians - 1859
The Adventures of Philip - 1862
Denis Duval - 1864