Chapter 5
Thackeray, self portrait, ca. 1848. Private collection. Image may not be reproduced without permission. |
Thackeray. Self portrait. Pencil, ca. 1848. Although he was still only in his thirties when Vanity Fair was published, Thackeray looked older than his age. He was an imposing presence at 6’3” and weighed 225 pounds. On viewing an engraving of Thackeray, Charlotte Brontë wrote, “To me the broad brow seems to express intellect. Certain lines about the nose and cheek betray the satirist and cynic; the mouth indicates a childlike simplicity, - perhaps even a degree of irresoluteness, inconsistency, - weakness, in short, but a weakness not unamiable….A certain not quite Christian expression.” Private collection. |