William Makepeace Thackeray

William Makepeace Thackeray - Novelists, Career and Family

Violet FieldHome › BritishWilliam Makepeace ThackerayJuly 18, 18111,098 views

0 based on 0 rates
William Makepeace Thackeray Biography Stories 

William Makepeace Thackeray's Personal Details

William Thackeray was an English novelist and satirist

InformationDetail
BirthdayJuly 18, 1811
Died onDecember 24, 1863
NationalityBritish
FamousTrinity College, Cambridge, Writers, Author, Novelists
SpousesIsabella Gethin Shawe
ChildrensAnne Isabella, Harriet Marian, Jane
Universities
  • Trinity College, Cambridge
  • Trinity College
  • Cambridge
  • Charterhouse School
  • University of Cambridge
Notable Alumnis
  • Trinity College
  • Cambridge
Birth PlaceIndia
GenderMale
FatherRichmond Thackeray
MotherAnne Becher
Sun SignCancer
Born inIndia
Famous asAuthor & Novelist
Died at Age52

// Famous Author

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. This biography provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline

Suze Orman

Suze Orman

Suze Orman is an American television host, financial advisor, author and motivational speaker, famous for her ‘The Suze Orman Show’ on CNBC. This biography profiles her childhood, life, career, works, achievements and timeline.

Robert Graysmith

Robert Graysmith

Robert Graysmith is an author best identified for his works on the ‘Zodiac Killer case’. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him.

William Makepeace Thackeray's photo

Who is William Makepeace Thackeray?

William Makepeace Thackeray was an English author, novelist and satirist who gained international fame and popularity for his novel Vanity Fair. His most famous works include novels Catherine, The Luck of Barry Lyndon and The Adventures of Philip. Initially started as a satirist and parodist, Thackeray produced some of fine examples of this genre. Among them are Timbuctoo, published in 1829, and a collection of fictional sketches The Yellowiplush Papers published in 1837. The author was also a journalist and columnist and contributed sketches for the Fraser's magazine before writing his first novel. By as early as 1940, Thackeray had gained popularity with the release of his two travel books The Paris Sketch Book and The Irish Sketch Book. Nevertheless, his most enduring success came in 1847, with the release of the novel Vanity Fair, which became his masterpiece and one of is best known works. The author died on 24 December 1863.

// Famous Novelists

Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant was an acclaimed French short story writer and novelist. This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, life, career, achievements and timeline.

J. B. Priestley

J. B. Priestley

J.B. Priestley was a famous English novelist, broadcaster and playwright. Go through this biography to learn more about his profile, childhood, life and timeline.

Robert Graves

Robert Graves

Robert Graves was an English poet and novelist best known for his war memoir ‘Good-Bye to All That’. This biography of Robert Graves provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Biography detail

Childhood & Early Life

William Thackeray was born on 18 July 1811 in Calcutta, India. His father Richmond Thackeray was a high rank secretary to the board of revenue in the British East India Company. Anne Becher, his mother was also a secretary writer for the East India Company. At age five, William went on attending his first school St. Helena and then at Charterhouse School, which he loathed in part due to the teasing he was subjected to there. His abhorrence for the school is evident in his later fictions where he chose to call it mockingly a "Slaughterhouse". Upon completion of the initial school, he went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge but left it in the middle of the session in 1830. Around this period, he had started writing for the college magazine The Snob and The Gownsman.

  

After an extensive trip to Paris and Weimar, he returned to England and enrolled at the Middle Temple to study law. Once again he gave up, leaving the college soon. Upon inheriting his father's assets at the age of 21, he invested in two newspapers The National Standard and The Constitutional and lost the money The National Standard and The Constitutional as they crumpled down soon. He worsened the condition by investing in banks that were at the verge of becoming insolvent and when this happened, he was coerced to find a job to support himself. For sometime, he worked as an artist.

Marriage & Early Career

Thackeray courted and on 20 August 1836, married Isabella Gethin Shawe, daughter of Mathew Shawe, a colonel. The marriage forced him to find a viable and stable source of income and he finally got a job with Fraser's Magazine. As a journalist, he wrote art criticism alongside contributing sketches. During this period, he produced two fictional works Catherine and The Luck of Barry Lyndon. He began working for a magazine Punch, publishing The Snob Papers. The works would later become known as The Book of Snobs.  

The book gave him initial success and fame, however, the happiness was overshadowed by the growing illness of his wife, who had reached in her last phase of depression. In 1840, he took his wife to Ireland in a hope to improve her condition, though it hardly helped him in the matter. She threw herself in to the sea on their way to Ireland and was rescued by the sea men. Two years after in 1842, she was confined in a home in Paris, where she lived until her death in 1893.

Later Career & Success

By as early as 1940, Thackeray had gained popularity with the release of his two travel books The Paris Sketch Book and The Irish Sketch Book. His landmark success came in 1847, when the novel Vanity Fair was first published and soon became one of his most remembered works. With the stunning success of the novel, Thackeray reached at the peak of his success and produced a number of large novels including Pendennis, The Newcomes, and The History of Henry Esmond. In 1849, he suffered from a deadly attack of illness which left him bedridden for months. Despite his ailing health and reduced energy, Thackeray continued lecturing at various Universities and seminars.

In 1860, he was made editor of the Cornhill Magazine. Though he preferred the role of a columnist and continued to contribute his Roundabout Papers for the magazine.  By this time, his health had worsened and he began showing the similar traits of depression as his wife's, partly motivated by the frustration from his reduced creativity. His over eating and addiction to black pepper further damaged his digestion and made him a heart patient. On the night of 23 December 1863, the author attended a dinner party and was found dead in his bedroom the next morning. He was fifty two years old at the time of his death. A funeral was held at Kensington Gardens and he was buried on 29 December at Kensal Green Cemetery.      

Notable Works Initially known as a satirist and parodist, Thackeray used pseudonyms as Charles James Yellowplush, Michael Angelo Titmarsh and George Savage Fitz-Boodle for his early writings. Timbuctoo, published in 1829, is one of his best satirical works. Another satirical work, a collection of fictional sketches appeared in Fraser's Magazine entitled as The Yellowiplush Papers in 1837. The work was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 2009. Thackeray's first successful venture as novelist was Catherine, a novel published between 1839 and 1840. Another satirical novel published in Fraser's is The Luck of Barry Lyndon, a story based upon a foreigner trying to attain high position in the society. Nevertheless, his best works remains the novel Vanity Fair, a story based upon an attractive woman. Also among his later notable works, is the novel The Adventures of Philip, a semi autobiographical account of his early life.  

// Famous Writers

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. This biography provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is a well-known American writer, autistic activist and animal expert. This biography profiles her childhood, life, achievements, career and timeline

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century. This biography of Tennessee Williams provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works and timeline.

// Famous Trinity College, Cambridge

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician, who discovered gravitation and Newtonian Mechanics. Read this biography to find more on his life.

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley was an occultist and ceremonial magician who founded the ethical philosophy of Thelema. This biography of Aleister Crowley provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who made significant contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, and continued fractions. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. .

Jared Diamond

Jared Diamond

Jared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and author reputed for his highly acclaimed and popular science books.

J. J. Thomson

J. J. Thomson

J.J. Thomson was an English physicist and mathematician. This biography profiles his childhood, life, academic career, research and timeline.

Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead was a famous British Mathematician, who co-authored the historical ‘Principia Mathematica’ with Bertrand Russell. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about his life.

William Makepeace Thackeray's FAQ

  • What is William Makepeace Thackeray birthday?

    William Makepeace Thackeray was born at 1811-07-18

  • When was William Makepeace Thackeray died?

    William Makepeace Thackeray was died at 1863-12-24

  • Where was William Makepeace Thackeray died?

    William Makepeace Thackeray was died in London, England

  • Which age was William Makepeace Thackeray died?

    William Makepeace Thackeray was died at age 52

  • Where is William Makepeace Thackeray's birth place?

    William Makepeace Thackeray was born in India

  • What is William Makepeace Thackeray nationalities?

    William Makepeace Thackeray's nationalities is British

  • Who is William Makepeace Thackeray spouses?

    William Makepeace Thackeray's spouses is Isabella Gethin Shawe

  • Who is William Makepeace Thackeray childrens?

    William Makepeace Thackeray's childrens is Anne Isabella, Harriet Marian, Jane

  • What was William Makepeace Thackeray universities?

    William Makepeace Thackeray studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, Trinity College, Cambridge, Charterhouse School, University of Cambridge

  • What was William Makepeace Thackeray notable alumnis?

    William Makepeace Thackeray's notable alumnis is Trinity College, Cambridge

  • Who is William Makepeace Thackeray's father?

    William Makepeace Thackeray's father is Richmond Thackeray

  • Who is William Makepeace Thackeray's mother?

    William Makepeace Thackeray's mother is Anne Becher

  • What is William Makepeace Thackeray's sun sign?

    William Makepeace Thackeray is Cancer

  • How famous is William Makepeace Thackeray?

    William Makepeace Thackeray is famouse as Author & Novelist