Chapter 7

The 1850s and early 1860s were a period of financial prosperity for Thackeray. The success of his novels and lecture tours through Great Britain and the United States ensured a steady income, and he was finally able to save money for his daughters and enjoy the more comfortable life of a literary celebrity.

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- He greatly enjoyed his new position in high society, which he felt gave him a better perspective from which to observe it. “God bless every one of ‘em–,” he wrote to Jane Brookfield, “the snobs as well as the swells, the dear old stoopids as well as the sparkling wits. They come tumbling into my memory next morning all fighting for places in the ‘Ghouls of Gadara Grange,’ or in whatever may be the elegant society novel I am for the moment engaged on.”
  
  During these years, Thackeray produced five novels, along with a number of Christmas books and two published collections of his lectures. From 1859 to 1862, he served as the founding editor of The Cornhill Magazine, for which he published several novels and many essays. At the helm of a popular magazine, he found the success that had eluded him in his youthful editorial ventures. With fame came increased criticism from enemies and rivals. Despite popular public opinion, reviews of many of Thackeray’s later books were mixed. Thackeray couldn’t quite ignore some of this criticism; he wrote, “I would rather have a good word than a bad one from any person: but if a critic abuses me from a high place, and it is worth my while, I will appeal.”
  
  Thackeray’s literary fame led to other activities. While he had previously remained consciously removed from politics, the events of the Crimean War changed his opinions. In July 1858, Thackeray ran for Parliament against Whig nominee Viscount Monck (who was later replaced with Edward Cardwell). Writing to his daughters, Thackeray joked,
  
  “My dearest little women, as far as I can see,
  The independent Woters is all along with me,
  But nevertheless I own it, with not a little funk,
  The more respectable classes they go with Wiscount Monck;
  But a fight without a tussle it is not worth a pin,
  And so St. George for England, and may the best man win.”[sic]
  
  Running on a platform of supporting the growth of the middle class and extending their power in government (for which he lost many of his upper-class acquaintances), Thackeray hated the process of campaigning. When the ballots were counted on July 21, Thackeray had lost by around 70 votes, out of about 2,000. He announced that he would take his place “with my pen and ink at my desk, and leave to Mr. Cardwell a business which I am sure he understands better than I do.”
  
  He relationship with his daughters deepened as they grew older. “He has often said to me he was so glad we suited him,” Anny later wrote. “What should he have done with a stupid son for instance?” He was impressed and proud that Anny had inherited his writing ability. In 1860, he published her first article, “Little Scholars,” in Cornhill. Thackeray was worried that he might be accused of favoritism, but the reception of the article and Anny’s later stories ensured she was a competent writer. In 1860, Thackeray designed and built a mansion at Palace Green. Remembering when he and Isabella had first married and could not afford a house over £80, Thackeray eventually spent over £8,000 on the new house, “all made out of the inkstand.” Despite these domestic comforts, Thackeray was often ill, and suffered from a number of chronic complaints that grew steadily worse over time. Ever a fan of good food and good wine, he wrote, “My physician tells me that I must live very simply, and not dine out so much; but I cannot break off the agreeable habit.”

In this section

	Thackeray responds to a critic in The Kickleburys on the Rhine (London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1851)	The Newcomes. (London: Bradbury & Evans, 1853-1855).

	Drawings for “Prince Polonio’s Adventures,” undated.	Thackeray to Anne and Henry Carmichael-Smyth, 1 January 1857.

	Thackeray to an unknown correspondent, 30 January 1857.	Mr. Thackeray, Mr. Yates, and the Garrick Club (London: Printed for private circulation, 1859).

	Thackeray publishes the first issue of The Cornhill Magazine, November, 1859.	Manuscripts from Roundabout Papers, 1860-1863.

	Charles Keene’s “A” initial for “Nil Nisi Bonum.”	“I think sometimes I am deservedly unpopular…I rather like it”; Thackeray to Whitwell Elwin, 24-31 May 1861.

	Thackeray in the 1860s.	Thackeray. “The Amaneunsis.” ca. 1855.

	Thackeray’s seal.