William Makepeace Thackeray: A Bicentennial Tribute

Thackeray as the gentleman and amateur, as the realist novelist, and (in the eyes of his enemies) as the 'cynic', versus Dickens as the professional writer, as the 'idealist' in his fiction, and as Bohemian in his inclinations. Thackeray's position in class terms, as a famil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDickensian Vol. 107; no. 484; p. 124
Main Author Tambling, Jeremy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London The Dickens Fellowship 01.07.2011
Subjects
Fiction
Thackeray, William Makepeace (1811-1863)
Writers
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Summary:Thackeray as the gentleman and amateur, as the realist novelist, and (in the eyes of his enemies) as the 'cynic', versus Dickens as the professional writer, as the 'idealist' in his fiction, and as Bohemian in his inclinations. Thackeray's position in class terms, as a family member of the dynasties which made up the East India Company, can be best represented in Dickensian terms by the fact that he identified his mother, who survived him, with Mrs Steerforth, and himself with James Steerforth (Dickens perhaps knew more than he thought when he created that mother and son).
ISSN:0012-2440