William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863)

Born 18 Jul 1811 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Ancestors

Husband of Isabella Gethin Creagh (Shawe) Thackeray — married about 20 Aug 1836 in British Embassy, Ile-de-France, Paris, France

Descendants

Died 24 Dec 1863 at age 52 in Westminster, London, England, United Kingdom

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William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist, famed mostly for his book Vanity Fair

Biography

Anne Becher and WMT

William Makepeace Thackeray was born in Calcutta, Bengal, India on 18 July 1811 to Richmond Thackeray and Anne (Becher) Thackeray. ^[1]

His father died when William was four, and his mother sent him to England to be educated. (She stayed behind in India.) Thackeray attended schools in Southampton, Chiswick, and Charterhouse School, which he disliked. He matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1829. After leaving Cambridge in 1830, Thackeray travelled the continent of Europe, visiting Paris and Germany. He then came back to England and began to study law at the Middle Temple (although he did not complete his studies).

At age 21 (1832), Thackeray received his inheritance from his father, but used it up by gambling, funding two unsuccessful newspapers, and because of the collapse of two Indian banks. This meant he had to find employment.

On 20 August 1836 Thackeray married Isabella Gethin Shawe at the British Embassy, Ile-de-France, Paris, France. ^[2] The couple had three children: Anne Isabella 1837, Jane (who died aged 8 months), and Harriet Marian.

Thackeray's wife, Isabella, became severely ill with depression in 1840. He took her to Ireland, but she tried to commit suicide on the journey and the trip was not a success. For two years from November 1840 Isabella was frequently under medical care, culminating in asylums in Paris. Thackeray removed her and took her back to England, where he placed her with a Mrs Bakewell in Camberwell. This seems to have worked; she outlived him by 30 years.

Although Thackeray never divorced Isabella, he had several platonic friendships with other women.

William Thackeray is Notable.

Vanity Fair first appeared in serial format and was published as a book in 1848. Thackeray became wildly popular, even with the people he had satirised. He was held as an equal of Charles Dickens, and continued to produce large - successul - novels. His popularity meant that lecture tours in the United States and in London were demanded.

On the 1851 census, Thackeray is described as a 'Barrister. Periodical Writer', and is living with his two daughters and three servants.^[3]

Thackeray in his study

By the 1861 census, this time in Brompton, Middlesex, he is now described as 'Writer of Novels; Barrister Not In Practice'; while still living with both daughters, he now has a friend from Paris staying, plus four servants including a footman. ^[4]

Thackeray's health became worse during the 1850s. This was not helped by the large amounts of eating and drinking in which he partook, together with an addiction to spicy peppers and a lack of exercise.

He passed away on 23 December 1863 at the age of 52 from a stroke. His death was registered in Westminster, London, England. ^[5] His funeral at Kensington Gardens was attended by some 7,000 people and he is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in the London Borough of Brent. Probate was granted to Anne Isabella Thackeray and Harriet Marian Thackeray on 5 Mar 1864. ^[6]

Bibliography

For complete bibliography, please see freespace page

• Catherine
• The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844), filmed as Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick
• Vanity Fair (1847–53)
• Men's Wives (1852)
• Lovel the Widower
• Denis Duval (unfinished) (1864)

Sources

1. ↑ "India Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGSY-X3N : 8 December 2014), Richmond Thackeray in entry for William Makepeace Thackeray, 03 Jan 1812; citing , reference v 9 p 1; FHL microfilm 498,610.
2. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWKB-V92 : 11 December 2014), William Makepeace Thackeray, 20 Aug 1836, Marriage; citing p. 102, Paris, France, record group RG33, Public Record Office, London.
3. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGT6-6YY : 12 September 2019), William M Thackeray, Kensington, Middlesex, England; citing Kensington, Middlesex, England, p. 41, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7KD-L4Z : 23 September 2020), William M Thackeray, Brompton, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
5. ↑ England & Wales death registration: Westminster [district], Volume 1a, Page 242, December quarter 1863, age 52
6. ↑ "England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPJS-HXPD : 30 August 2018), William Makepeace Thackeray, 5 Mar 1864; citing Probate, England, United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Great Britain.; FHL microfilm

See Also:

• Wikipedia:William_Makepeace_Thackeray
• https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/afghanistan1839/fiftyyearsofjohncompany.pdf
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1933
• 'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell, published by The Hogarth Press, Pimlico, London in 1996. ISBN 0 7126 7450 0, includes extensive family trees. Hundreds of friends, professional connections and people in the 'Bloomsbury set' are also mentioned in the text.'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell