by William Makepeace Thackeray

Born in Calcutta, India, in 1811, William Makepeace Thackeray was the only son of Anne Becher and Richmond Thackeray, who worked for the East India Company. After his father’s death in 1815, the young Thackeray was sent back to England to be educated at the Charterhouse School in London and, later, at Trinity College, Cambridge. Believing himself not destined for academic success, Thackeray left Cambridge without a degree and spent several years traveling in Europe, where he met Isabella Shawe, whom he married in 1836. The newlyweds moved to England, after which Thackeray became a successful journalist, contributing articles and satiric sketches to, for example, Fraser’s Magazine and Punch. After the birth of her third child, Isabella suffered a mental breakdown and ultimately lapsed into permanent insanity. Thackeray used the profits from his work to pay for her care. He progressed to writing...