Almost as many editions of Thackeray's works have been
published as of Dickens' novels, and the reader in his
selection must be guided largely by his own taste. In choosing
an edition, however, always get one that contains Thackeray's
own illustrations, as, though the drawing is frequently crude,
the sketches are full of humor and help one to understand the
author's conception of the characters. The best general
edition is _The Biographical_, with introductions by his
daughter, Mrs. Richmond Ritchie (London, 1897-1900). The
Charterhouse edition of Thackeray in twenty-six volumes,
published in England by Smith, Elder & Co. and in this country
by Lippincott, is an excellent library set containing all the
original illustrations.
No regular biography of Thackeray has ever been written
because of his expressed wish, but his daughter, Mrs. Richmond
Ritchie, has supplied this lack with many sketches and
introductions to various editions of her father's works.
Anthony Trollope in his autobiography gives many charming
glimpses of Thackeray but his sketch of Thackeray in the
English Men of Letters series is not warmly appreciative.
One of the best short estimates of Thackeray is Charles
Whibley's _Thackeray_ (1905). Also valuable are sketches by
Frederic Harrison in _Early Victorian Literature_; Brownell,
_Early Victorian Masters_; Whipple, _Character and
Characteristic Men_; R.H. Stoddard, _Anecdote Biography of
Thackeray_; Andrew Lang, _Letters to Dead Authors_; G.T.
Fields, _Yesterdays With Authors_; Jeaffreson, _Novels and
Novelists_ and W.B. Jerrold, _The Best of All Good Company_.
The reviews and magazines, especially in the last ten years,
have abounded in articles on Thackeray. Among these the best
have appeared in SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE. A small volume, _The
Sense and Sentiment of Thackeray_ (Harper's, 1909), gives
numerous good extracts from the novels as well as from the
essays.