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75 Top William Makepeace Thackeray Quotes

Famous As: Author & Novelist
Born On: July 18, 1811
Died On: December 24, 1863
Born In: Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Died At Age: 52
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English author, novelist, literary critic and satirist, who lived in the 19th century and went on to become one of the best known authors of the time. Thackeray is best known for his novel ‘Vanity Fair’ published in 1848 which satirized the upper class of English society of the time and is regarded as one of the most accurate depictions of that era. Earlier in life, Thackeray had squandered his inheritance on gambling and failed ventures, which forced him to take up writing in order to make a living. He worked for ‘The Foreign Quarterly Review’, ‘Fraser’s Magazine’, ‘Punch’ and ‘The Morning Chronicle’ among others. ‘Fraser’s Magazine’ had also published two of his works of fiction titled ‘The Luck of Barry Lyndon’ and ‘Catherine’. However, his fortunes changed completely following the publication of ‘Vanity Fair’ and readers compared his work with that of the legendary Charles Dickens. Thackeray could not replicate the success of ‘Vanity Fair’ with his subsequent novels but some of the notable ones include ‘The Newcomers’, ‘Pendennis’, ‘The Adventures of Philip’ and ‘Bildungsroman’. Thackeray was also a man of sharp and ironic wit that made him such a successful writer of satire. Whatever he has said or written have become quite famous as his quotes and thoughts and is quoted extensively. His thoughts and quotations tackle the most serious and sensitive topics in a lighter tone. Here are some of the best quotations and thoughts from William Makepeace Thackeray’s life and works.
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Life is a mirror: if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile, it returns the greeting.

Life is a mirror: if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile, it returns the greeting.

William Makepeace Thackeray
To love and win is the best thing.
To love and lose, the next best.

To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose, the next best.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Good humor may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.

Good humor may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Revenge may be wicked, but it’s natural.

Revenge may be wicked, but it’s natural.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.

Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?

Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?

William Makepeace Thackeray
Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.

William Makepeace Thackeray
All is vanity, nothing is fair.

All is vanity, nothing is fair.

William Makepeace Thackeray
If a man's character is to be abused, say what you will, there's nobody like a relative to do the business.

If a man's character is to be abused, say what you will, there's nobody like a relative to do the business.

William Makepeace Thackeray
People hate as they love, unreasonably.

People hate as they love, unreasonably.

William Makepeace Thackeray
There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.

There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Are not there little chapters in everybody's life, that seem to be nothing, and yet affect all the rest of the history?

Are not there little chapters in everybody's life, that seem to be nothing, and yet affect all the rest of the history?

William Makepeace Thackeray
In the midst of friends, home, and kind parents, she was alone.

In the midst of friends, home, and kind parents, she was alone.

William Makepeace Thackeray
The wicked are wicked, no doubt, and they go astray and they fall, and they come by their deserts; but who can tell the mischief which the very virtuous do?

The wicked are wicked, no doubt, and they go astray and they fall, and they come by their deserts; but who can tell the mischief which the very virtuous do?

William Makepeace Thackeray
A good laugh is sunshine in a house

A good laugh is sunshine in a house

William Makepeace Thackeray
The moral world has no particular objection to vice, but an insuperable repugnance to hearing vice called by its proper name.

The moral world has no particular objection to vice, but an insuperable repugnance to hearing vice called by its proper name.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Bravery never goes out of fashion.

Bravery never goes out of fashion.

William Makepeace Thackeray
A woman with fair opportunities, and without an absolute hump, may marry WHOM SHE LIKES.

A woman with fair opportunities, and without an absolute hump, may marry WHOM SHE LIKES.

William Makepeace Thackeray
Some cynical Frenchman has said that there are two parties to a love-transaction: the one who loves and the other who condescends to be so treated.

Some cynical Frenchman has said that there are two parties to a love-transaction: the one who loves and the other who condescends to be so treated.

William Makepeace Thackeray
...the greatest tyrants over women are women.

...the greatest tyrants over women are women.

William Makepeace Thackeray
It is better to love wisely, no doubt: but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all

It is better to love wisely, no doubt: but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all

William Makepeace Thackeray
Ah! Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?-Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out.

Ah! Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?-Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out.

William Makepeace Thackeray
One of the great conditions of anger and hatred is, that you must tell and believe lies against the hated object, in order, as we said, to be consistent.

One of the great conditions of anger and hatred is, that you must tell and believe lies against the hated object, in order, as we said, to be consistent.

William Makepeace Thackeray
A person can't help their birth.

A person can't help their birth.

William Makepeace Thackeray
I would rather make my name then inherit it.

I would rather make my name then inherit it.

William Makepeace Thackeray
The two most engaging powers of a good author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.

The two most engaging powers of a good author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.

William Makepeace Thackeray
It is the ordinary lot of people to have no friends if they themselves care for nobody

It is the ordinary lot of people to have no friends if they themselves care for nobody

William Makepeace Thackeray
A lady who sets her heart upon a lad in uniform must prepare to change lovers pretty quickly, or her life will be but a sad one.

A lady who sets her heart upon a lad in uniform must prepare to change lovers pretty quickly, or her life will be but a sad one.

William Makepeace Thackeray
The little cares, fears, tears, timid misgivings, sleepless fancies of I don't know how many days and nights, were forgotten under one moment's influence of that familiar, irresistible smile.

The little cares, fears, tears, timid misgivings, sleepless fancies of I don't know how many days and nights, were forgotten under one moment's influence of that familiar, irresistible smile.

William Makepeace Thackeray
She lived in her past life- these relics and remembrances of dead affection were all that was left her in the world.

She lived in her past life- these relics and remembrances of dead affection were all that was left her in the world.

William Makepeace Thackeray