Thackeray's only two series of public lectures gave an important new dimension to his public presence and to his contemporary reputation as a literary artist. This is the first book on these lecture-essays.

Thackeray by Anthony Trollope is a biography of renowned author William Thackeray. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of British society. Excerpt: "In the foregoing volumes of this series of English Men of Letters, and in other works of a similar nature which have appeared lately as to the Ancient Classics and Foreign Classics, biography has naturally been, if not the leading, at any rate, a considerable element. The desire is common to all readers to know not only what a great writer has written, but also of what nature has been the man who has produced such great work."