William Makepeace Thackeray (1811¿1863) was an Indian-born English author, novelist, and illustrator. During the Victorian era he was ranked second only to Charles Dickens, and today he remains famous for his classic English novel ¿Vanity Fair¿. Originally published as a 19-volume serial between 1847 and 1848, the story revolves around the lives of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley during the Napoleonic Wars. A satirisation of British society in the early 19th-century, ¿Vanity Fair¿ was highly successful when first published and is today considered a timeless classic. A true masterpiece of English fiction and a must-read for all literature lovers. Other notable works by this author include: ¿Men's Wives¿ (1852), ¿Catherine¿ (1839¿40), and ¿The Luck of Barry Lyndon¿ (1844). Read & Co. Classics is republishing this novel now in a new edition complete with a biography of the author from ¿Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Volume XXIII¿