He was born in Calcutta, India and studied in both London and Cambridge. Some of his earliest writing appeared in university publications. After traveling on the continent, he began studying law but soon gave it up. His most famous work, "Vanity Fair", was written as a series in a magazine without a precise plan. It portrayed English society through central characters and surrounding incidents. Thackeray became prominent in London society and had successful works that satirized vices through moral depictions of life.

1. William Makepeace Thackeray
(18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863)
was an E nglish novelist of the 19th century. He was
famous for his satirical works, particularly « Vanity
Fair» , a panoramic portrait of E nglish society.

2. Thackeray, an only child, was born in C alcutta,
India. In early childhood, William was moved
to L ondon, where he entered the school
C harter House. Then he studied in C ambridge
but only 1 year. Some of his earliest writing
appeared in university publications « The Snob»
and « The Gownsman» . A nd after that he
travelled for some time on the continent,
visiting Paris and Weimar. He returned to
E ngland and began to study law at the Middle
Temple, but soon gave that up.

4. In 1837, Thackeray got married, but family life wasn’ t
happy because of his wife's mental illness. She had to
live separately from her husband and the rest of his life
Thackeray lived with his two daughters.

5. Thackeray often wrote under the pen name, according
to popular custom at that time. Thackeray signed a real
name for the first time in novel « Vanity Fair» . The
novel was written without a precisely defined plan, so
that in a magazine it could be stretched or completed
randomly. Thackeray conceived only a few central
individuals and grouped around them different
incidents.

6. Becky Sharp, a poor girl has a very positive goals in life.
She wants to have a good life: she uses her wit and
beauty to ensnare all the right people, fascinates rich
old bachelors, exploits young officer, and marry him,
cheating him.

7. So he became a prominent member of L ondon society and
had good relationship with the outstanding writers of the
time. There other his works are « Penndenis» (« История
Пенденниса» ),
« The History of Henry E smond » , « The Newcomers» , « The
Rose and the Ring» , « The A dventures of
Philip» (« Прик лючения Филиппа в его странствовании по
свету» ).

8. A fter 1854 he began to read
public lectures in E urope and then
in A merica. But he did not read
his own stories, like Dickens, and
only made several historical and
literary essays and he had a great
success.

9. The basis of all his novels and comic sketches is his
pessimism and realistic portrayal of E nglish life. His
novels are supposed always to have a perfect hero or
heroine.
Thackeray called his best work - " Vanity Fair" - a
novel without a hero, and in this novel, as in others,
brings into action perverse people or at least selfish.
He convinced that evil in life much more interesting
and varied than good. Representing evil and vices of
people he brighter preached positive ideals. It makes his
novels highly artistic and life.
Therefore all his novels turned into satire, always
have, however, the moral lining: vices are depicted very
clearly, but not in a pretty sight.

10. Russian translations of Thackeray appeared in the 1850's. In
particular it was translations by E N A khmatova.
Thackeray saw himself as writing in the realistic tradition and
distinguished himself from the exaggerations and sentimentality of
Dickens. Some later commentators have accepted this self-
evaluation and seen him as a realist, but others note his inclination
to use eighteenth-century narrative techniques, such as digressions
and talking to the reader, and argue that through them he
frequently disrupts the illusion of reality.

11. His former home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent is now a fine
dining restaurant named after the author.
On 23 December 1863, after returning from dining out
and before dressing for bed, Thackeray suffered a
stroke and was found dead on his bed in the morning.
His death at the age of fifty-two was entirely
unexpected, and shocked his family, friends, and
reading public. A n estimated 7000 people attended his
funeral at K ensington Gardens. He was buried on 29
December at Kensal Green C emetery, and a memorial
bust can be found in Westminster A bbey.