英国文学导读 (47).pdf

William M. Thackeray (1811-1863) During the Victorian era, Thackeray was ranked second only to Charles Dickens, but he is now much less widely read and is almost only known for his satirical work, Vanity Fair.  1. Life and Career  He was born at Calcutta, the son of an East India Company official.  His father died when he was four years old, and his mother remarried to an officer of the British military in India. At the age of six, Thackeray was sent to be educated in England.  He entered Cambridge in 1829 but left it without taking his degree.  In 1832, he inherited a sum of 500 pound a year, a handsome sum then, but he soon lost the patrimony—some in investing in an Indian bank which broke, some at gambling tables and some in two futile newspaper enterprises.  In 1836, he married Isabella Shawe, an Irish girl, who, however, became insane after the birth of their third child. A young man with a ruined fortune and a tragic marriage, Thackeray was forced to earn his life with his pen. 有缘学习更多+谓ygd3076考证资料 2. Some features of his works ① Criticizes the social moral that makes up the society. ② Thackeray’s criticism embraces people of all social strata; his social-climbers and snobs and money-grabbers can be found in any class. ③ Thackeray always speaks in an ironical, sarcastic and cynical tone of an on-looker. ④ Thackeray proves a conscious artist. His works are known for their fine language, careful overall planning, mastery of detail, vast scope of view and a faithfulness to the history.