William Makepeace Thackeray’s Followers (1,404)

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 · 146,912 ratings · 6,546 reviews · 4,687 distinct works • Similar authors

	Vanity Fair 3.81 avg rating — 134,681 ratings — published 1847 — 831 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 3.63 avg rating — 2,981 ratings — published 1844 — 775 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 — 1,264 ratings — published 1855 — 382 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 — 1,143 ratings — published 1852 — 925 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) 3.90 avg rating — 592 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) 3.97 avg rating — 565 ratings — 4 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 3.39 avg rating — 553 ratings — published 1848 — 89 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) 3.71 avg rating — 406 ratings — published 1850 — 299 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 3.66 avg rating — 274 ratings — published 1855 — 175 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 3.40 avg rating — 116 ratings — published 1859 — 358 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 — 135,830 ratings

Ярмарка Тщеславия (2 books)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray,

Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

3.93 avg rating — 1,155 ratings

Mainehikkaita romaaneja (1 book)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray

3.60 avg rating — 1,143 ratings

The Adventures of Philip (4 books)
by

William Makepeace Thackeray

3.52 avg rating — 29 ratings

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

Polls

2015 Fourth Quarter Long Read

1978, The Stand by Stephen King, 1153 pages

27 votes, 18.0%

1853, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville, 663 pages

25 votes, 16.7%

1853, Bleak House by Charles Dickens, 1017 pages

16 votes, 10.7%

1879, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 796 pages

15 votes, 10.0%

1868, The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 667 pages

13 votes, 8.7%

1847, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, 867 pages

11 votes, 7.3%

1924, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, 706 pages

10 votes, 6.7%

1812, The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm, 880 pages

9 votes, 6.0%

1982, North and South by John Jakes, 812 pages

7 votes, 4.7%

1915, Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, 684 pages

6 votes, 4.0%

1973, Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, 776 pages

4 votes, 2.7%

1920, Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, 1168 pages

3 votes, 2.0%

1794, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, 654 pages

3 votes, 2.0%

1901, Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell, 816 pages

1 vote, 0.7%

1948, The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer, 721 pages

0 votes, 0.0%

1876, Daniel Deronda by George Eliot, 796 pages

0 votes, 0.0%

150 total votes

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