William Makepeace Thackeray was a prominent English novelist and satirist of the Victorian era, best known for his masterpiece Vanity Fair (1848), a scathing critique of British society and human folly. Born in Calcutta, India, to a wealthy family, Thackeray moved to England as a young boy after the death of his father. He attended prestigious schools, including the Charterhouse School and later Trinity College, Cambridge, though he left university without completing his degree. His inheritance, which initially provided him with financial stability, was squandered through gambling and failed investments, compelling him to turn to writing as a career.

Thackeray began his literary journey as a journalist and illustrator, contributing to periodicals such as Punch and Fraser's Magazine. His early works, including The Yellowplush Papers and Catherine: A Story, showcased his sharp wit and talent for satire. He often mocked societal pretensions and explored the darker aspects of human nature, drawing on his keen observational skills. With the publication of Vanity Fair, Thackeray cemented his place among literary greats. The novel's anti-heroine, Becky Sharp, remains one of literature’s most compelling and morally ambiguous characters, embodying the themes of ambition, greed, and hypocrisy that Thackeray so often explored.

In his later years, Thackeray continued to write novels, such as Pendennis (1850), The History of Henry Esmond (1852), and The Virginians (1857), while also serving as the first editor of The Cornhill Magazine. Despite his success, his personal life was marked by tragedy; his wife, Isabella, suffered from mental illness and had to be institutionalized, leaving him to raise their daughters alone. Thackeray’s health declined in his later years, and he passed away in 1863 at the age of 52. His legacy endures as one of the sharpest critics of Victorian society, a master of realism and satire, and a storyteller who delved into the complexities of human behavior.