William Makepeace Thackeray eBooks
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist born in 1863. Born in Calcutta, he was sent to England in 1816 after his father’s death. He went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, but left after a year. He spent several years travelling, and used his inheritance to fund two unsuccessful newspapers and two unsuccessful Indian banks.
After losing his money, Thackeray turned to writing to support his young family. He wrote criticism and fiction for Fraser’s Magazine, The Times, and Punch magazine. His first novel, Catherine, was serialized by Fraser’s between 1839 and 1840. His 1844 novel, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, was also serialized in the publication.
Thackeray published several travel books. These included 1840’s The Paris Sketchbook and 1843’s The Irish Sketchbook. These books gave him a moderate level of success. This was also boosted by the serialization of his Snob Papers in 1846 and 1847, and its publication in book form in 1848.
Vanity Fair, Thackeray’s 1848 novel, has become his best known work. It began to be serialized in 1847, and brought him immediate success. He became a sought after writer, with his satirical fiction receiving good reviews.
Many of Thakeray’s later novels, including Pendennis, The Newcomes, and The Virginians, lacked the power of his earlier works. Often compared to Dickens, much of Thackeray’s output began to have a softer form of satire.
Thackeray became the editor of Cornhill Magazine in 1860 and published the Roundabout Papers in it. He died of a stroke in 1863.
