He married Isabella, an Irish girl, daughter of Colonel Matthew Shawe, who enchanted him with her singing, and who was the model for Amelia in Vanity Fair. Three daughters were born, one dying in infancy. After the birth of the third child, Mrs. Thackeray's mind was affected and she had to be placed with a family who took care of her. The little girls were sent to Thackeray's mother in Paris. Although Mrs. Thackeray outlived her husband by thirty years, she did not recover.
In 1837, Thackeray came to London and became a regular contributor to Fraser's Magazine. From 1842 to 1851, he was on the staff of Punch, a position that brought in a good income. During his stay at Punch, he wrote Vanity Fair, the work which placed him in the first rank of novelists. He completed it when he was thirty-seven.
In 1857, Thackeray stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for Oxford. In 1859 he took on the editorship of the Cornhill Magazine. He resigned the position in 1862 because kindliness and sensitivity of spirit made it difficult for him to turn down contributors.
His writing was filled with wit, humor, satire, and pathos. It is impossible to list here his many works of literature. The best known are The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. (1844), Vanity Fair (1847-48), Pendennis (1848-50) The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. (1852), The Newcomers (1853-55), and The Virginians (1857-59).
Thackeray drew on his own experiences for his writing. He had a great weakness for gambling, a great desire for worldly success, and over his life hung the tragic illness of his wife.
Thackeray died December 24, 1863. He was buried in Kensal Green, and a bust by Marochetti was put up to his memory in Westminster Abbey.
