Books with author William Makepeace]

Any reader who may have a fancy to purchase a copy of this present edition of the “History of the Kickleburys Abroad,” had best be warned in time, that the Times newspaper does not approve of the work, and has but a bad opinion both of the author and his readers. Nothing can be fairer than this statement: if you happen to take up the poor little volume at a railroad station, and read this sentence, lay the book down, and buy something else. You are warned. What more can the author say? If after this you WILL buy,—amen! pay your money, take your book, and fall to. Between ourselves, honest reader, it is no very strong potation which the present purveyor offers to you. It will not trouble your head much in the drinking. It was intended for that sort of negus which is offered at Christmas parties and of which ladies and children may partake with refreshment and cheerfulness. Last year I tried a brew which was old, bitter, and strong; and scarce any one would drink it. This year we send round a milder tap, and it is liked by customers: though the critics (who like strong ale, the rogues!) turn up their noses. In heaven’s name, Mr.Smith, serve round the liquor to the gentle-folks. Pray, dear madam, another glass; it is Christmas time, it will do you no harm. It is not intended to keep long, this sort of drink. (Come, froth up, Mr. Publisher, and pass quickly round!) And as for the professional gentlemen, we must get a stronger sort for THEM some day. The Times’ gentleman (a very difficult gent to please) is the loudest and noisiest of all, and has made more hideous faces over the refreshment offered to him than any other critic. There is no use shirking this statement! when a man has been abused in the Times, he can’t hide it, any more than he could hide the knowledge of his having been committed to prison by Mr. Henry, or publicly caned in Pall Mall. You see it in your friends’ eyes when they meet you. They know it

Vanity Fair: A Novel without a Hero is a novel by English author William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1847–48, satirising society in early 19th-century Britain. It follows the lives of two women, Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley, amid their friends and family. The novel is now considered a classic, and has inspired several film adaptations. In 2003, Vanity Fair was listed at #122 on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's best-loved books.

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair (1847), a panoramic portrait of English society. Thackeray began as a satirist and parodist, with a sneaking fondness for roguish upstarts like Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, Barry Lyndon in Barry Lyndon (1844) and Catherine in Catherine (1839). In his earliest works, writing under such pseudonyms as Charles James Yellowplush, Michael Angelo Titmarsh and George Savage Fitz-Boodle, he tended towards the savage in his attacks on high society, military prowess, the institution of marriage and hypocrisy. His writing career really began with a series of satirical sketches now usually known as The Yellowplush Papers, which appeared in Fraser's Magazine beginning in 1837. Between May 1839 and February 1840, Fraser's published the work sometimes considered Thackeray's first novel, Catherine also notable among the later novels are The Fitz-Boodle Papers (1842), Men's Wives (1842), The History of Pendennis (1848), The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., (1852), The Newcomes (1853) and The Rose and the Ring (1855).

Main Characters of this story are Miss Amelia Sedley and Miss Becky Sharp. They study in Miss Pinkerton’s private boarding. Amelia is a daughter of successful businessman. She has a calm character and everybody love her. Becky is an orphan, daughter of an artist and a French dancer. She is a pretty, smart and knows French. She lives in Miss Pinkerton’s house and getting education also works as a teacher of French for younger girls. Amelia and Rebecca are friends. But Amelia is a rich and she can’t understand Becky’s problems and help her. Girls have completed private boarding together. Amelia is going to be married to officer Osborn. She loves him very much. Rebecca was offered job of a governess in an aristocratic family. But before it she was invited to visit in Amelia’s house. Miss Sharp met Amelia’s brother and wanted to marry him but this cannot be done…

DEDICATORY LETTERSir,—It becomes every man in his station to acknowledge and praise virtue wheresoever he may find it, and to point it out for the admiration and example of his fellow-men.Some months since, when you presented to the writer of these pages a small account for coats and pantaloons manufactured by you, and when you were met by a statement from your creditor, that an immediate settlement of your bill would be extremely inconvenient to him, your reply was, ‘Mon Dieu, sir, let not that annoy you; if you want money, as a gentleman often does in a strange country, I have a thousand-franc note at my house which is quite at your service.’History or experience, sir, makes us acquainted with so few actions that can be compared to yours,—an offer like this from a stranger and a tailor seems to me so astonishing,—that you must pardon me for thus making your virtue public, and acquainting the English nation with your merit and your name. Let me add, sir, that you live on the first floor; that your cloths and fit are excellent, and your charges moderate and just; and, as a humble tribute of my admiration, permit me to lay these volumes at your feet.—Your obliged, faithful servant,M. A. TITMARSH.THE PARIS SKETCH BOOK1. An Invasion of France2. A Caution to Travellers3. The Fêtes of July4. On the French School of Painting5. The Painter’s Bargain6. Cartouche7. On some French Fashionable Novels8. A Gambler’s Death9. Napoleon and his System10. The Story of Mary Ancel11. Beatrice Merger12. Caricatures and Lithography in Paris13. Little Poinsinet14. The Devil’s Wager15. Madame Sand and the New Apocalypse16. The Case of Peytel17. French Dramas and Melodramas18. Meditations at VersaillesTHE IRISH SKETCH BOOK1. A Summer Day in Dublin, or there and thereabouts2. A Country-house in Kildare—Sketches of an Irish Family and Farm3. From Carlow to Waterford4. From Waterford to Cork5. Cork—The Agricultural Show—Father Mathew6. Cork—The Ursuline Convent7. Cork8. From Cork to Bantry; with an Account of the City of Skibbereen9. Rainy Days at Glengariff10. From Glengariff to Killarney11. Killarney—Stag-hunting on the Lake12. Killarney—The Races—Mucross13. Tralee—Listowel—Tarbert14. Limerick15. Galway—Kilroy’s Hotel—Galway Night’s Entertainments—First Night: An Evening with Captain Freeny16. More Rain in Galway—A Walk there—And the Second Galway Night’s Entertainment17. From Galway to Ballynahinch18. Roundstone Petty Sessions19. Clifden to Westport20. Westport21. The Pattern at Croagh-Patrick22. From Westport to Ballinasloe23. Ballinasloe to Dublin24. Two Days in Wicklow25. Country Meetings in Kildare—Meath—Drogheda26. Dundalk27. Newry, Armagh, Belfast—From Dundalk to Newry28. Belfast to the Causeway29. The Giant’s Causeway—Coleraine—Portrush30. Peg of Limavaddy31. Templemoyle—Derry32. Dublin at last

How is this book unique? Illustrations includedOriginal & Unabridged EditionOne of the best books to readClassic historical fiction booksExtremely well formattedThe Book of Snobs is a collection of satirical works by William Makepeace Thackeray first published in the magazine Punch as The Snobs of England, By One of Themselves. Published in 1848, the book was serialised in 1846/47 around the same time as Vanity Fair. While the word 'snob' had been in use since the end of the 18th century Thackeray's adoption of the term to refer to people who look down on others who are "socially inferior" quickly gained popularity. William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He is known for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.

The History of Henry Esmond is a historical novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, originally published in 1852. The book tells the story of the early life of Henry Esmond, a colonel in the service of Queen Anne of England. A typical example of Victorian historical novels, Thackeray's work of historical fiction tells its tale against the backdrop of late 17th- and early 18th-century England – specifically, major events surrounding the English Restoration — and utilises characters both real (but dramatised) and imagined.