Chapter 1


Photograph Photograph Photograph Photograph

Thackeray to his mother, 14 December 1830. Private collection. Image may not be reproduced without permission.

Thackeray to his mother, 14 December 1830.

After leaving Cambridge in the spring of 1830, Thackeray travelled to Germany, and stayed the winter in Weimar, where he studied German literature, sketched the scenery, and met Goethe (Thackeray found him oppressive and disturbing). Thackeray illustrated this letter with a German scene and a caricature, displaying the artistic skills he was there to cultivate.

Private collection.