William Makepeace Thackeray’s Followers (1,310)

William Makepeace Thackeray

Born

in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India

July 18, 1811

Died

December 24, 1863

Genre

Fiction

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William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist, satirist, and journalist, best known for his keen social commentary and his novel Vanity Fair (1847–1848). His works often explored themes of ambition, hypocrisy, and the moral failings of British society, making him one of the most significant literary figures of the Victorian era.
Born in Calcutta, British India, he was sent to England for his education after his father’s death. He attended Charterhouse School, where he developed a distaste for the rigid school system, and later enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, he left without earning a degree, instead traveling in Europe and pursuing artistic ambitions.
After losing much of his inheritance due to bad investments, Thackera William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist, satirist, and journalist, best known for his keen social commentary and his novel Vanity Fair (1847–1848). His works often explored themes of ambition, hypocrisy, and the moral failings of British society, making him one of the most significant literary figures of the Victorian era.
Born in Calcutta, British India, he was sent to England for his education after his father’s death. He attended Charterhouse School, where he developed a distaste for the rigid school system, and later enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, he left without earning a degree, instead traveling in Europe and pursuing artistic ambitions.
After losing much of his inheritance due to bad investments, Thackeray turned to writing for a living. He contributed satirical sketches, essays, and stories to periodicals such as Fraser’s Magazine and Punch, gradually building a reputation for his sharp wit and keen observational skills. His breakthrough came with Vanity Fair, a panoramic satire of English society that introduced the enduring character of Becky Sharp, a resourceful and amoral social climber.
Thackeray’s later novels, including Pendennis (1848–1850), The History of Henry Esmond (1852), and The Newcomes (1853–1855), continued to explore the lives of the English upper and middle classes, often focusing on the contrast between personal virtue and social ambition. His historical novel Henry Esmond was particularly praised for its detailed 18th-century setting and complex characterization.
In addition to his fiction, Thackeray was a noted public speaker and essayist, delivering lectures on the English humorists of the 18th century and on The Four Georges, a critical look at the British monarchy.
Despite his literary success, he lived with personal struggles, including the mental illness of his wife, Isabella, which deeply affected him. He remained devoted to his two daughters and was known for his kindness and generosity among his friends and colleagues.
His works remain widely read, appreciated for their incisive humor, rich characterizations, and unflinching critique of social pretensions.
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Combine Editions
William Makepeace Thackeray’s books

Average rating: 3.8 · 144,926 ratings · 6,267 reviews · 5,175 distinct works • Similar authors

	Vanity Fair 3.81 avg rating — 133,091 ratings — published 1847 — 1996 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Barry Lyndon 3.62 avg rating — 2,866 ratings — published 1844 — 111 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rose And the Ring 3.75 avg rating — 1,244 ratings — published 1855 — 374 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. 3.60 avg rating — 1,123 ratings — published 1852 — 920 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bâlciul deşertăciunilor, vol.1 by William Makepeace Thackeray, Sînziana Mihalache (Translator) 3.89 avg rating — 552 ratings — published 1848 — 84 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vanity Fair, Part 2 by William Makepeace Thackeray, Frederick Davidson (Narrator) 3.96 avg rating — 521 ratings — 52 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Book of Snobs 3.40 avg rating — 537 ratings — published 1848 — 355 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy by William Makepeace Thackeray, Donald Hawes (editor), J.I.M. Stewart (Editor) 3.69 avg rating — 399 ratings — published 1850 — 134 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Newcomes 3.67 avg rating — 266 ratings — published 1855 — 128 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Virginians 3.39 avg rating — 114 ratings — published 1859 — 309 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by William Makepeace Thackeray…

Series by William Makepeace Thackeray

Vanity Fair (3 books)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray,

John Carey (Contributor)

3.81 avg rating — 134,158 ratings

Ярмарка Тщеславия (2 books)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray,

Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

3.92 avg rating — 1,073 ratings

Mainehikkaita romaaneja (1 book)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray

3.60 avg rating — 1,123 ratings

The Adventures of Philip (4 books)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray

3.64 avg rating — 28 ratings

They're the rule breakers, the troublemakers, the ones who scoff at societal conventions. While their vicious personalities and...

Polls

November 2014 Revisit the Shelf Classics Poll

1860, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, 672 pages

20 votes, 15.5%

1953, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, 238 pages

16 votes, 12.4%

1962, We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, 160 pages

15 votes, 11.6%

1866, Crime and Punishment byFyodor Dostoyevsky, 545 pages

12 votes, 9.3%

1883, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, 311 pages

10 votes, 7.8%

1951, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, 277 pages

10 votes, 7.8%

1847, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, 867 pages

10 votes, 7.8%

1898, The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, 192 pages

9 votes, 7.0%

1887, A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, 108 pages

8 votes, 6.2%

1929, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, 326 pages

7 votes, 5.4%

1935, Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, 320 pages

6 votes, 4.7%

1981, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, 314 pages

6 votes, 4.7%

129 total votes

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