William Makepeace Thackeray
1) Vanity fair
With an unmatched wit and a keen appreciation for the inanity of social mores, William Makepeace Thackeray provides his own unique spin on the family history genre in The History of Pendennis. Following a young lad who makes his way to London in search of love and a livelihood, the narrative tears through juicy family secrets, shadowy machinations, and all manner of plots and conspiracies. If you liked Vanity Fair, you'll love The
...6) Men's Wives
Though he originally set out to depict criminals in as harshly accurate a light as possible, without the sentimentalization that he saw and disdained in Dickens' work, Thackeray's fictionalized account of the life of Catherine Hayes, an eighteenth-century woman who was burned at the stake for the murder of her husband, depicts the titular character in a somewhat more appealing and charming manner than the author intended. A must-read for fans of
...10) Barry Lyndon
William Makepeace Thackeray is lauded for his razor-sharp wit in satirical novels such as Vanity Fair. In this epistolary collection, Thackeray channels his jocularity into a series of pompous letters touching on subjects as diverse as food, literary figures, romance, and general life advice. A must-read for fans of Thackeray's hilariously skewed view of the world.
13) Ballads
Though he is best remembered as the satirical novelist who penned nineteenth-century masterpieces such as Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray was also an accomplished poet. This volume collects some of Thackeray's most popular ballads, lyrics, and other poems; it is a rewarding read for lovers of traditional verse.
During their lifetimes, Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray were engaged in a friendly competition of sorts to see who could gain the most stature and popularity as writers for the masses. Following in Dickens' footsteps, Thackeray began penning a series of heartwarming holiday-themed tales to be published in serial form, often under the pen name "Michael Angelo Titmarsh." Many of the most beloved tales from this series are collected
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