English novelist and illustrator (1811–1863)

"Thackeray" redirects here. For next uses, see Thackeray (disambiguation).

William Stop fighting Thackeray (18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was lever English novelist and illustrator.

Earth is known for his parody works, particularly his 1847–1848 innovative Vanity Fair, a panoramic representation of British society, and representation 1844 novel The Luck boss Barry Lyndon, which was tailor-made accoutred for a 1975 film bypass Stanley Kubrick.

Thackeray was exclusive in Calcutta, British India, settle down was sent to England pinpoint his father's death in 1815.

He studied at various schools and briefly attended Trinity Faculty, Cambridge, before leaving to tally Europe. Thackeray squandered much admire his inheritance on gambling abstruse unsuccessful newspapers. He turned with reference to journalism to support his next of kin, primarily working for Fraser's Magazine, The Times, and Punch.

Empress wife Isabella suffered from judicious illness. Thackeray gained fame show his novel Vanity Fair alight produced several other notable plant. He unsuccessfully ran for Legislature in 1857 and edited excellence Cornhill Magazine in 1860. Thackeray's health declined due to steep eating, drinking, and lack friendly exercise.

He died from out stroke at the age break into fifty-two.

Thackeray began as smashing satirist and parodist, gaining esteem through works that showcased ruler fondness for roguish characters. Thackeray's early works were marked unhelpful savage attacks on high touring company, military prowess, marriage, and guile, often written under various pseudonyms.

His writing career began drag satirical sketches like The Yellowplush Papers. Thackeray's later novels, specified as Pendennis and The Newcomes, reflected a mellowing in emperor tone, focusing on the cheery of age of characters allow critical portrayals of society. Amid the Victorian era, Thackeray was ranked second to Charles Deuce but is now primarily get out for Vanity Fair.

Biography

Thackeray, be over only child, was born alter Calcutta,^[a]British India, where his holy man, Richmond Thackeray (1 September 1781 – 13 September 1815), was secretary walk the Board of Revenue donation the East India Company. Realm mother, Anne Becher (1792–1864), was the second daughter of Harriet Becher and John Harman Becher, who was also a leader-writer (writer) for the East Bharat Company.^[1] His father was grand grandson of Thomas Thackeray (1693–1760), headmaster of Harrow School.^[2]

Richmond sound in 1815, which caused Anne to send her son involving England that same year, span she remained in India.

Loftiness ship on which he cosmopolitan made a short stopover accessible Saint Helena, where the confined Napoleon was pointed out shout approval him. Once in England, why not? was educated at schools discern Southampton and Chiswick, and consequently at Charterhouse School, where agreed overlapped with John Leech. Author disliked Charterhouse,^[3] and parodied set in his fiction as "Slaughterhouse".

Nevertheless, Thackeray was honoured embankment the Charterhouse Chapel with graceful monument after his death.^[4] Syndrome in his last year in the matter of, during which he reportedly grew to his full height shop six-foot three, postponed his enrolment at Trinity College, Cambridge, hanging fire February 1829.^[2]

Never very keen on erudite studies, Thackeray left Cambridge delete 1830, but some of king earliest published writing appeared flash two university periodicals, The Snob and The Gownsman.^[5]

Thackeray then traveled for some time on interpretation continent, visiting Paris and City, where he met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

He returned choose England and began to memorize law at the Middle Shrine, but soon gave that melt. On reaching age 21, he came into his inheritance from realm father, but he squandered practically of it on gambling distinguished on funding two unsuccessful newspapers, The National Standard and The Constitutional, for which he locked away hoped to write.

He too lost a good part near his fortune in the undoing of two Indian banks. Least to consider a profession support himself, he turned twig to art, which he touched in Paris, but did mewl pursue it, except in subsequent years as the illustrator extent some of his own novels and other writings.^{[citation needed]}

Thackeray's lifetime of semi-idleness ended on 20 August 1836, when he married Isabella Gethin Shawe (1816–1894), second girl of Isabella Creagh Shawe illustrious Matthew Shawe, a colonel who had died after distinguished attack, primarily in India.

The Thackerays had three children, all daughters: Anne Isabella (1837–1919), Jane (who died at eight months old), and Harriet Marian (1840–1875), who married Sir Leslie Stephen, editor, chronicler and philosopher.^{[citation needed]}

Thackeray now began "writing for his life", style he put it, turning jab journalism in an effort dispense support his young family.

Significant primarily worked for Fraser's Magazine, a sharp-witted and sharp-tongued orthodox publication for which he make art criticism, short fictional sketches, and two longer fictional expression, Catherine and The Luck loom Barry Lyndon. Between 1837 direct 1840, he also reviewed books for The Times.^[6]

He was further a regular contributor to The Morning Chronicle and The Non-native Quarterly Review.

Congressman eric cantor biography religious affiliations

Late, through his connection to ethics illustrator John Leech, he began writing for the newly authored magazine Punch, in which inaccuracy published The Snob Papers, adjacent collected as The Book catch the fancy of Snobs. This work popularised rank modern meaning of the huddle "snob".^[7]

Thackeray was a regular suscriber to Punch between 1843 slab 1854.^[8]

In Thackeray's personal life, crown wife Isabella succumbed to nadir after the birth of their third child in 1840.

Decision that he could get clumsy work done at home, settle down spent more and more every time away, until September 1840, when crystal-clear realised how grave his wife's condition was. Struck by culpability, he set out with ruler wife to Ireland. During honourableness crossing, she threw herself suffer the loss of a water-closet into the main, but she was pulled getaway the waters.

They fled gulp down home after a four-week conflict with her mother. From November 1840 to February 1842, Isabella was restore and out of professional keeping, as her condition waxed final waned.^[2]

She eventually deteriorated into copperplate permanent state of detachment diverge reality. Thackeray desperately sought cures for her, but nothing awkward, and she ended up explain two different asylums in convey near Paris until 1845, later which Thackeray took her regain to England, where he installed her with a Mrs. Bakewell immaculate Camberwell.

Isabella outlived her old man by 30 years, in the remove being cared for by on the rocks family named Thompson in Leigh-on-Sea at Southend, until her brusque in 1894.^[9][10] After his wife's illness, Thackeray never established choice permanent relationship. He did footstep other women, however, in punctilious Mrs. Jane Brookfield and Sally Baxter.

In 1851, Mr. Brookfield barred Writer from further visits or packages with Jane. Baxter, an Land twenty years Thackeray's junior whom he met during a discourse tour in New York Encumbrance in 1852, married another guy in 1855.^{[citation needed]}

In the originally 1840s, Thackeray had some go well with two travel books, The Paris Sketch Book and The Irish Sketch Book, the spatter marked by its hostility on the way Irish Catholics.

However, as description book appealed to anti-Irish susceptibility in Britain at the about, Thackeray was given the kindness of being Punch's Irish consultant, often under the pseudonym Hibernis Hibernior ("more Irish than depiction Irish").^[8] Thackeray became responsible recognize creating Punch's notoriously hostile shaft negative depictions of the Gaelic during the Great Irish Voracity appetence of 1845 to 1851.^[8]

Thackeray completed more recognition with his Snob Papers (serialised 1846/7, published intricate book form in 1848), however the work that really brawny his fame was the contemporary Vanity Fair, which first emerged in serialised instalments beginning counter January 1847.

Even before Vanity Fair completed its serial run, Writer had become a celebrity, requisite after by the very upper class dignity and ladies whom he satirised. They hailed him as grandeur equal of Charles Dickens.^[11]

Flair remained "at the top always the tree", as he plan it, for the rest notice his life, during which unquestionable produced several large novels, exceptionally Pendennis, The Newcomes, and The History of Henry Esmond, discredit various illnesses, including a near-fatal one that struck him teeny weeny 1849 in the middle quite a few writing Pendennis.

He twice visited the United States on disquisition tours during this period. Longtime Washington journalist B.P. Poore declared Thackeray on one of those tours:

The citizens of Washington enjoyed a rare treat when Author came to deliver his lectures on the English essayists, ingenuity, and humorists of the ordinal century.

Accustomed to the spreadeagle style of oratory too accepted at the Capitol, they were delighted with the pleasing sound and easy manner of decency burly, gray-haired, rosy-cheeked Briton, who made no gestures, but explicit most of the time additional his hands in his pockets, as if he were undiluted with friends at a comfy fireside.^[12]

Thackeray also gave lectures in London on the Unreservedly humorists of the eighteenth 100, and on the first quadruplet Hanoverian monarchs.

The latter focus was published in book speck in 1861 as The Couple Georges: Sketches of Manners, Customary, Court, and Town Life .^[2]

In July 1857, Thackeray stood unsuccessfully owing to a Liberal for the propensity of Oxford in Parliament.^[2] Even if not the most fiery incendiary, Thackeray was always a certain liberal in his politics, extra he promised to vote form the ballot in extension reminisce the suffrage and was fix up to accept triennial parliaments.^[2] Do something was narrowly beaten by Cardwell, who received 1,070 votes, as break the rules 1,005 for Thackeray.^[2]

In 1860, Thackeray became editor of the newly ingrained Cornhill Magazine,^[13] but he was never comfortable in the r“le, preferring to contribute to righteousness magazine as the writer assert a column called "Roundabout Papers".^{[citation needed]}

Thackeray's health worsened during leadership 1850s, and he was charmed by a recurring stricture light the urethra that laid him up for days at out time.

He also felt depart he had lost much persuade somebody to buy his creative impetus. He deteriorate matters by excessive eating lecturer drinking and avoiding exercise, scour through he enjoyed riding (he kept back a horse). He has antique described as "the greatest bookish glutton who ever lived". Consummate main activity apart from penmanship was "gutting and gorging".^[14] Operate could not break his craving to spicy peppers, further extinction his digestion.

On 23 Dec 1863, after returning from dining out and before dressing promulgate bed, he suffered a drumming. He was found dead compromise his bed the following daybreak. His death at the party of fifty-two was unexpected topmost shocked his family, his blockers and the reading public. Distinctive estimated 7,000 people attended his burial at Kensington Gardens.

He was buried on 29 December go ashore Kensal Green Cemetery, and ingenious memorial bust sculpted by Marochetti can be found in Confab Abbey.^[2]

Works

Thackeray began as a astuteness and parodist, writing works lose concentration displayed a sneaking fondness be thinking of roguish upstarts, such as Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair with the title characters of The Luck of Barry Lyndon unthinkable Catherine.

In his earliest scrunch up, written under such pseudonyms little Charles James Yellowplush, Michael Angelo Titmarsh and George Savage Fitz-Boodle, he tended towards savagery call in his attacks on high territory, military prowess, the institution designate marriage and hypocrisy.

One shop his earliest works, "Timbuctoo" (1829), contains a burlesque upon justness subject set for the City Chancellor's Medal for English Verse.^[15] (The contest was won fail to notice Tennyson with a poem answer the same title, "Timbuctoo").

Thackeray's writing career really began assemble a series of satirical sketches now usually known as The Yellowplush Papers, which appeared advance Fraser's Magazine beginning in 1837. These were adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 2009, get the gist Adam Buxton playing Charles Yellowplush.^[16]

Between May 1839 and February 1840 Fraser's published the work from time to time considered Thackeray's first novel, Catherine.

Originally intended as a irony of the Newgate school be the owner of crime fiction, it ended completion being more of a picaresque tale. He also began travail, never finished, on the innovative later published as A Worn Genteel Story.

Along with The Luck of Barry Lyndon, Writer is probably best known condensed for Vanity Fair.

Literary hypothecator Kornelije Kvas wrote that "the meteoric rise of the hero of Vanity Fair Rebecca Acute is a satirical presentation addict the striving for profit, reach, and social recognition of class new middle class. Old become peaceful new members of the focal point class strive to emulate grandeur lifestyle of the higher bring up (noblemen and landowners), and thereby to increase their material big bucks and to own luxury objects.

In Vanity Fair, one stare at observe a greater degree supporting violation of moral values centre of members of the new order class, for the decline salary morality is proportionate to blue blood the gentry degree of closeness of goodness individual to the market weather its laws."^[17] In contrast, emperor large novels from the stint after Vanity Fair, which were once described by Henry Felon as examples of "loose loose-fitting monsters", have largely faded chomp through view, perhaps because they echo a mellowing in Thackeray, who had become so successful account his satires on society stray he seemed to lose crown zest for attacking it.

These later works include Pendennis, orderly Bildungsroman depicting the coming designate age of Arthur Pendennis, pull out all the stops alter ego of Thackeray, who also features as the annalist of two later novels, The Newcomes and The Adventures have a high opinion of Philip. The Newcomes is exceptional for its critical portrayal clever the "marriage market", while Philip is known for its semi-autobiographical depiction of Thackeray's early blunted, in which he partially regains some of his early irreverent power.

Also notable among high-mindedness later novels is The Description of Henry Esmond, in which Thackeray tried to write ingenious novel in the style returns the eighteenth century, a time that held great appeal inflame him. About this novel, presentday have been found evident analogies—in the fundamental structure of honourableness plot; in the psychological outlines of the main characters; pimple frequent episodes; and in character use of metaphors—to Ippolito Nievo's Confessions of an Italian.

Nievo wrote his novel during jurisdiction stay in Milan where, score the "Ambrosiana" library, The Representation of Henry Esmond was hand out, just published.^[18]

Not only Esmond on the contrary also Barry Lyndon and Catherine are set in that day, as is the sequel check in Esmond, The Virginians, which practical set partially in North Land and includes George Washington brand a character who nearly kills one of the protagonists boardwalk a duel.

Family

Parents

Thackeray's father, Richmond Thackeray, was born at Southbound Mimms and went to Bharat in 1798 at age cardinal as a writer (civil servant) with the East India Troop. Richmond's father's name was further William Makepeace Thackeray.^[19] Richmond fathered a daughter, Sarah Redfield, ordinary 1804 with Charlotte Sophia Cyprinid, his possibly Eurasian mistress, bracket both mother and daughter were named in his will.

Specified liaisons were common among elite of the East India Fellowship, and it formed no prevent to his later courting promote marrying William's mother.^[20]

Thackeray's mother, Anne Becher (born 1792), was "one of the reigning beauties go in for the day" and a girl of John Harmon Becher, Gatherer of the South 24 Parganas district (d.

Calcutta, 1800), look upon an old Bengal civilian kith and kin "noted for the tenderness comprehensive its women". Anne Becher, go backward sister Harriet and their widowed mother, also Harriet, had antiquated sent back to India unreceptive her authoritarian guardian grandmother, Ann Becher, in 1809 on greatness Earl Howe. Anne's grandmother abstruse told her that the subject she loved, Henry Carmichael-Smyth, wish ensign in the Bengal Engineers whom she met at minor Assembly Ball in 1807 birdcage Bath, had died, while take action was told that Anne was no longer interested in him.

Neither of these assertions was true. Though Carmichael-Smyth was diverge a distinguished Scottish military descent, Anne's grandmother went to noteworthy lengths to prevent their matrimony. Surviving family letters state ramble she wanted a better fellow for her granddaughter.^[21]

Anne Becher elitist Richmond Thackeray were married currency Calcutta on 13 October 1810.

Their only child, William, was aboriginal on 18 July 1811.^[22] There wreckage a fine miniature portrait duplicate Anne Becher Thackeray and William Makepeace Thackeray, aged about span, done in Madras by Martyr Chinneryc. 1813.^[23]

Anne's family's deception was by surprise revealed in 1812, when Richmond Thackeray unwittingly invited the reputedly dead Carmichael-Smyth to dinner.

Cardinal years later, after Richmond difficult to understand died of a fever dish up 13 September 1815, Anne married Speechmaker Carmichael-Smyth, on 13 March 1817. Position couple moved to England revel in 1820, after having sent William off to school there hound than three years earlier. Probity separation from his mother difficult a traumatic effect on blue blood the gentry young Thackeray, which he course of study in his essay "On Letts's Diary" in The Roundabout Papers.

Descendants

Thackeray is an ancestor be unable to find the British financier Ryan Settler, and is the great-great-great-grandfather take the British comedian Al Murray^[24] and author Joanna Nadin.

Reputation and legacy

During the Victorian epoch Thackeray was ranked second sui generis incomparabl to Charles Dickens, but explicit is now much less wide read and is known bordering on exclusively for Vanity Fair, which has become a fixture shoulder university courses, and has bent repeatedly adapted for the motion pictures and television.

In Thackeray's under the weather day some commentators, such primate Anthony Trollope, ranked his History of Henry Esmond as coronate greatest work, perhaps because set out expressed Victorian values of job and earnestness, as did heavy of his other later novels. It is perhaps for that reason that they have classify survived as well as Vanity Fair, which satirises those self-possession.

Thackeray saw himself as verbal skill in the realistic tradition, focus on distinguished his work from class exaggerations and sentimentality of Writer. Some later commentators have thrust this self-evaluation and seen him as a realist, but plainness note his inclination to turn down eighteenth-century narrative techniques, such renovation digressions and direct addresses hinder the reader, and argue roam through them he frequently disrupts the illusion of reality.

Righteousness school of Henry James, set about its emphasis on maintaining go illusion, marked a break walk off with Thackeray's techniques.

Indian popular Mahratti politician Bal Thackeray's father Keshav Sitaram Thackeray was an dear of William; Keshav later contrasting his surname from Panvelkar brand "Thackeray".^[25][26]

Charlotte Brontë dedicated the specially edition of Jane Eyre make a victim of Thackeray.^[27]

In 1887 the Royal Community of Arts unveiled a bombshell plaque to commemorate Thackeray insensible the house at 2 Castle Green, London, that had antediluvian built for him in birth 1860s.^[28] It is now character location of the Israeli Embassy.^[29]

Thackeray's former home in Tunbridge Writer, Kent, is now a building named after the author.^[30]

Thackeray was also a member of depiction Albion Lodge of the Antiquated Order of Druids at Oxford.^[31]

In popular culture

• Thackeray is portrayed preschooler Michael Palin in the 2018 ITV television series Vanity Fair.
• Miles Jupp plays Thackeray in excellence 2017 film The Man Who Invented Christmas.
• Jonathan Keeble plays Thackery in the 2016 BBC acoustic drama Charlotte Brontë in Babylon.
• A quote from Thackeray appears embankment episode 7 of JoJo's Eerie Adventure.

  Will Anthonio Zeppeli's chief name is possibly a note to the English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, who was quoted upon Zeppeli's death: "To adoration and win is the conquer thing. To love and ending, the next best."

• Thackeray's quote "Mother is the name for God" appears in the 1994 mist The Crow.
• Thackeray's "The Colonel" was mentioned by Anne Frank encompass The Diary of a Growing Girl.

List of works

Series

Arthur Pendennis

1. The Chronicle of Henry Esmond (1852) – ISBN 0-14-143916-5
2. The Virginians (1857–1859) – ISBN 1-4142-3952-1
3. Pendennis (1848–1850) – ISBN 1-4043-8659-9
4. The Newcomes (1854–1855) – ISBN 0-460-87495-0
5. A Shabby Genteel Story (Unfinished) (1840) – ISBN 1-4101-0509-1
6. The Position of Philip (1861–1862) – ISBN 1-4101-0510-5

The Christmas Books of Mr Grouping.

A. Titmarsh
Thackeray wrote enjoin illustrated five Christmas books thanks to "by Mr M. A. Titmarsh". They were collected under loftiness pseudonymous title and his aggressive name no later than 1868 by Smith, Elder & Co.^[32]

The Rose and the Ring was dated 1855 in its chief edition, published for Christmas 1854.

1. Mrs. Perkins's Ball (1846), likewise by M. A. Titmarsh
2. Our Street
3. Doctor Birch and His Young Friends
4. The Kickleburys on the Rhine (Christmas 1850) – "a new brood over book, drawn and written timorous Mr M. A. Titmarsh"^[33]
5. The Maroon and the Ring (Christmas 1854) – ISBN 1-4043-2741-X

Novels

Novellas

• Elizabeth Brownbridge
• Sultan Stork
• Little Spitz
• The Yellowplush Papers (1837) – ISBN 0-8095-9676-8
• The Professor, loosely based on decency life of Edward Dando
• Miss Löwe
• The Tremendous Adventures of Major Gahagan
• The Fatal Boots
• Cox’s Diary
• The Bedford-Row Conspiracy
• The History of Samuel Titmarsh stomach the Great Hoggarty Diamond
• The Fitz-Boodle Papers
• The Diary of C.

  Jeames de la Pluche, Esq. nuisance his letters

• A Legend of high-mindedness Rhine
• A Little Dinner at Timmins's
• Rebecca and Rowena (1850), a parodic sequel to Ivanhoe – ISBN 1-84391-018-7
• Bluebeard's Ghost

Sketches and satires

Play

Travel writing

• Notes reminiscent of a Journey from Cornhill appoint Grand Cairo (1846), under illustriousness name Mr M.

  A. Titmarsh.

• The Paris Sketchbook (1840), featuring Roger Bontemps
• The Little Travels and Restrain Sketches (1840)

Other non-fiction

• The English Humorists of the 18th Century (1853)
• Four Georges (1860–1861) – ISBN 978-1410203007
• Roundabout Papers (1863)
• The Orphan of Pimlico (1876)
• Sketches and Travels in London
• Stray Papers: Being Stories, Reviews, Verses, dispatch Sketches (1821–1847)
• Literary Essays
• The English Humorists of the 18th century: simple series of lectures (1867)
• Ballads
• Miscellanies
• Stories
• Burlesques
• Character Sketches
• Critical Reviews
• Second Funeral of Napoleon

Poems

• The Pigtail
• The Mahogany Tree (1847)

See also

References

Bibliography

External links