William Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
(geb. am 18.7.1811 in Calcutta)
Thackeray war der Sohn eines englischen Beamten in Indien. Sein Vater starb, als William vier Jahr alt war. Danach kam er auf ein Internat nach England. Von 1829 bis 1830 studierte er in Cambridge, schloss das Studium aber nicht ab. In den folgenden Jahren machte er ausgedehnte Reisen durch Frankreich, Italien und Deutschland. Bei seinem Deutschland-Besuch soll er auch Johann Wolfgang von Goethe getroffen haben. Zurück in England studierte er für weitere zwei Jahre Rechtswissenschaften, danach Kunst in Paris. 1836 schloss er die Ehe mit Isabella Shawe, die er in Paris kennengelernt hatte. Isabella war die Tochter von Oberst Matthew Shawe. Ab 1837 arbeitete er als Journalist. Im Jahr 1840 kollabierte seine Frau nervlich. 1842 reiste er nach Irland. 1844 war Thackeray wieder auf Reisen, diesmal im Nahen Osten und in den Mittelmeerstaaten. 1847 erschien sein wohl bekanntestes Buch 'Vanity Fair', das ihn endgültig zu einem bekannten und gut verdienenden Autor machte. 1861 gründete er die Zeitschrift 'Cornhill Magazine'. Thackeray starb am 24.12.1863 in London.
Einige Werke:
Memoiren des Mr. C.J. Yellowplush
(Original: The Yellowplush Correspondence); 1837/38
Die Memoiren des Junkers Barry Lydon; 1844
Jahrmarkt der Eitelkeiten (Original: Vanity Fair); 1847
(verfilmt 2004 mit Reese Witherspoon und Bob Hoskins; Regie: Mira Nair)
Die Snobs; 1849
Geschichte von Pendennis; 1849
Rebecca und Rowena; 1850
Die Newcomes; 1855
Die Virginier; 1857
Thackeray in einem Essay über Jonathan Swift
(aus: 'The English Humourists of the 18th Century'):
"In treating of the English humourists of the past age, it is of the men and of their lives, rather than of their books, that I ask permission to speak to you; and in doing so, you are aware that I cannot hope to entertain you with a merely humorous or facetious story. Harlequin without his mask is known to present a very sober countenance, and was himself, the story goes, the melancholy patient whom the Doctor advised to go and see Harlequin - a man full of cares and perplexities like the rest of us, whose Self must always be serious to him, under whatever mask or disguise or uniform he presents it to the public. And as all of you here must needs be grave when you think of your own past and present, you will not look to find, in the histories of those whose lives and feelings I am going to try and describe to you, a story that is otherwise than serious, and often very sad. If Humour only meant laughter, you would scarcely feel more interest about humorous writers than about the private life of poor Harlequin just mentioned, who possesses in common with these the power of making you laugh. But the men regarding whose lives and stories your kind presence here shows that you have curiosity and sympathy, appeal to a great number of our other faculties, besides our mere sense of ridicule. The humorous writer professes to awaken and direct your love, your pity, your kindness - your scorn for untruth, pretension, imposture - your tenderness for the weak, the poor, the oppressed, the unhappy. To the best of his means and ability he comments on all the ordinary actions and passions of life almost. He takes upon himself to be himself to be the week-day preacher, so to speak. Accordingly, as he finds, and speaks, and feels the truth best we regard him, esteem him - sometimes love him. And, as his business is to mark other people`s lives and peculiarities, we moralize upon his life when he is gone - and yesterday`s preacher becomes the text for today`s sermon."
Quelle: www.underthesun.cc
Jonathan Swift