Talk:William Makepeace Thackeray

Merge etc.
A new article at William Thackeray needs to have its content merged with this article. -- Infrogmation 20:32, 2 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Is anyone still working on this article? It begins well enough with the first few paragraphs; then suddenly we find ourselves dropped off in Tunbridge Wells, and without a return ticket. What happened to the rest of his life, his literary reputation, and a critical summary of his work? InvisibleSun 11:35, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

It should be noted that his Snob Papers in Punch were 52. The Book of Snobs contains only 45 of them. Does anyone know where I could find the other 7 articles missing out of the book? I should like to add that the articles where written from March 1846 to February 1847. The book was published in 1848. In the article it mentioned 1846 as the publication year by I corrected it. (kilaiditis@gmail.com)

I have updated and rewritten the article to bring it more in line with modern scholarship (thackeray798@yahoo.com).

What about Barry Lyndon?
How is he "known almost exclusively as the author of Vanity Fair?"

He wrote the novel that became a movie that won four Oscars.

Indeed, I think I hear far more about Barry Lyndon than Vanity Fair, which I always connected more with the Pilgrim's Progress.Anymouse (talk) 06:05, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

Why is he "gigantic"?
I am curious to know why Jane Carlyle refersto William Thackeray as "the gigantic Thackeray".

She does this in a letter to her cousin, Jeannie "Babbie" Welsh (dated 23rd Dec., 1843, and published in "The Virago Book of Christmas" by Michelle Lovric); and in the context of the letter, it seems to refer to his physical stature than rather than to his stature in society. --peter_english (talk) 22:05, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Health Issues
Thackery reported to be died of spasms of heart.I think it's better to state it the same instead of using ' stroke ' to save readers from any confusion.--Mike robert (talk) 23:39, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

What is the nonsense about hot peppers: they affect only the nerves and cannot possibly do any physical damage to the digestion. Ianbrettcooper (talk) 19:13, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

Father's First Wife, move to middle of article
I reread the whole story about his father's first wife, his mother's relatives lying to her about the fate of her love, the death of his father, how his mother remarried to her original love. . . I reread the whole thing twice, trying to figure out how any of it pertained to Thackeray himself. Possibly (probably) it was a major influence when he wrote Vanity Fair, as it has some similarities to the story of Amelia and Dobbins, but I don't think it's important to be one of the first things we learn about Thackeray's life. So, I moved it to a new section that I entitled "Family Influences", although I don't really care for that section very much. Banaticus (talk) 09:53, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Second daughter's birthdate
I removed the date of birth (was listed as 1837) from the article. I have not found a reliable date yet, but 1837 seems improbable since the first daughter was born in July 1837. The third was born in 1840, so the second was probably 1839. Anybody have a reliable source for the date? Raymondwinn (talk) 12:08, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Not a Thackeray portrait?
The drawing used (as of Jan 2012) in the fourth position down (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/William_Makepeace_Thackeray_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_13103.jpg) is identified (in the Project Gutenberg file) as Thackeray, but I am willing to wager that it is not. The hair, the nose shape, the chin shape are all distinctly different from the previous portrait and the photograph. I removed it today; if somebody can find concrete proof that I am wrong, let him feel good about re-inserting it.--Raymondwinn (talk) 04:24, 2 January 2012 (UTC)

Charlotte Brontë
I would like to see reference to the high regard Charlotte Brontë writes of in the preface to the second edition of Jane Eyre. I'm not qualified/educated enough to be able to do this but it seems very interesting... a real moral and uplifting appreciation.

Benvhoff (talk) 09:41, 23 July 2015 (UTC)

Possible plagiarism issue
Much if not most of this article appears to be reprinted almost word-for-word from a book called Victorian Novelists Series - Thirteen - William Makepeace Thackeray. The source can be found in Google Books: Victorian Novelists Series

In particular almost all of the "Biography," "Works," "Family," and "Reputation and legacy" sections of the article look like they've been taken nearly unchanged from this book. I don't know if the book is in the public domain, and there may be a plagiarism issue.--2605:6001:E409:2200:79BD:E1C1:1D8B:B848 (talk) 08:49, 7 February 2016 (UTC)


 * It's pretty clear that there's been some plagiarism somewhere. If the article were plagiarized, I'd expect its history would show a small number of large additions. But the only large addition I notice is this one, made by MeltBanana eleven years ago. The text in that doesn't look so similar, and I don't notice complaints to MeltBanana about copyright violation anywhere. Certainly MeltBanana, since retired but for a time pretty active, was never prevented from editing because of any misbehavior.


 * The book is anonymous, and it's published by Lulu, which seems to have no editorial supervision. My guess is that the plagiarism went in the opposite direction: Wikipedia to book. -- Hoary (talk) 13:26, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Was this the same poet who wrote Little Billee?
Was William Makepeace Thackeray the poet who wrote Little Billee? The text of the poem is in the public domain, but it might not be allowed to be put in the article. If he is, should a reference to the poem, if not the poem itself, be added? 67.8.227.76 (talk) 02:20, 24 August 2016 (UTC)
 * He wrote a version of it, according to an OUP web page. -- Hoary (talk) 12:25, 14 October 2017 (UTC)