Thackeray, William Makepeace; Ritchie, Anne

The Biographical Edition of the Works of William Makepeace Thackeray (Thirteen Volumes)

London, England, UK: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1899. First Editions Thus. Hardcovers. This collection includes nearly every major work by English novelist and illustrator William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863). Thackeray was a satirist, parodist, & humorist born in British India, and he arrived in England at the age of 4 after his father died, leaving his mother in India. Thackeray squandered his inheritance on gambling and unsuccessful newspapers endeavors, but once he married and fathered three children, he began writing to support his family. He contributed frequently to Fraser’s Magazine and Punch, among others. During the Victorian era, Thackeray was ranked second to Charles Dickens. Thackeray's early works, such as Vanity Fair (Volume I) and The Luck of Barry Lyndon (Volume IV), were marked by savage attacks on high society, military prowess, marriage, and hypocrisy. Thackeray's later novels, such as Pendennis (Volume II) and The Newcomes (Volume VIII), reflected a mellowing in his tone, focusing on the coming of age of characters and critical portrayals of society. Thackeray was left a de facto widower when his wife was committed for her severe depression, and his health declined due to excessive eating, drinking, and lack of exercise. He died from a stroke at the age of fifty-two. Each volume of this collection includes a biographical introduction by Thackeray’s daughter, Anne Ritchie. She also wrote several appreciated novels which made her a central figure on the late Victorian literary scene. The publisher of this set is Smith, Elder, & Co., most famous for the publication of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre in 1847, under the pseudonym of "Currer Bell,” and Charles Darwin’s The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle in five parts between 1838 and 1843. The contents of this set are as follows: Volume 1 - Vanity Fair; Volume 2 - The History of Pendennis; Volume 3 - The Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush & The Great Hoggarty Diamond; Volume 4 - The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq., The Fitz-Boodle Papers, Men’s Wives, Catherine: A Story, The Second Funeral of Napoleon; Volume 5 - The Paris Sketch Book, The Irish Sketch Book of 1842, Notes of a Journey from Cornhill to Grand Cairo, Sultan Stork, Dickens in France; Volume 6 - Miss Tickletoby’s Lectures on English History, Papers by the Fat Contributor, Miscellaneous Contributions to “Punch”, Verses, The History of the Next French Revolution, Little Travels and Road-Side Sketches, The Book of Snobs, Novels by Eminent Hands, Sketches and Travels in London, A Little Dinner at Timmins’s, Caricatures; Volume 7 - The History of Henry Esmond, The Lectures; Volume 8 - The Newcomes; Volume 9 - The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh; Volume 10 - The Virginians; Volume 11 - The Adventures of Philip; Volume 12 - The Wolves and the Lamb, Lovel the Widower, Roundabout Papers, Denis Duval; Volume 13 - Ballads and Miscellanies. Hardcovers: first editions thus, first printings, though neither explicated as such on copyright page. All volumes are in similarly near fine condition with minor-to-moderate peeling to the edges of spines; minor bumping to the edges and corners of front, back covers & spines; minor rubbing, scuffing, spotting to covers & spines; mild-to-moderate foxing on frontispieces recto/verso, protective sheet, and first title page in most volumes; mild foxing to blank endpapers, front and back; rough edges to some pages visible at side of pageblock of several volumes, perhaps as issued; volume 6 and volume 11 have several creased page corners. An extra handling fee of $35.00 will be added for shipping due to the size and weight of this set. Near Fine. [Item #6891]

Price: $600.00