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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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William Makepeace Thackeray
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(1811-63)
Journalist and novelist. He inherited a fortune of £20,000 on coming of age, but lost it through gambling and unlucky investments. From the mid-1830s he contributed to a large number of magazines under a wide range of pseudonyms (in particular Michael Angelo Titmarsh). A series of satirical character sketches, done for *Punch in 1846–7, was published as The Book of Snobs. The first title to appear under his own name was his great historical novel *Vanity Fair (1848). The History of Pendennis (1848–50) moved the focus to contemporary life and introduced the semi-autobiographical central character of Arthur Pendennis.
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With The History of Henry Esmond (1852) he returned to the historical novel (set this time in the early 18C); and in its sequel, The Virginians (1858–9), he followed the fortunes of Esmond's twin grandsons at the time of the War of American Independence. Thackeray was an excellent artist, illustrating several of his own books. A personal tragedy was the mental breakdown of his wife, Isabella, in 1840 when they had two very young daughters. From then on she was looked after in a home in the country, leaving him with the life, but not the freedom, of a widower.
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