About the Authors
William Makepeace Thackeray was a nineteenth century English novelist who was most famous for his classic novel, Vanity Fair, a satirical portrait of English society. With an early career as a satirist and parodist, Thackeray shared a fondness for roguish characters that is evident in his early works such as Vanity Fair, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, and Catherine, and was ranked second only to Charles Dickens during the height of his career. In his later work, Thackeray transitioned from the satirical tone for which he was known to a more traditional Victorian narrative, the most notable of which is The History of Henry Esmond. Thackeray died in 1863.
George recently retired after 11 years in the chemical industry and thirty years in local government. Born in Hartlepool, County Durham, both his father and grandfather were railwaymen and he fell in love with railways and in particular steam locomotives at the very time when main line steam were on the way out. Being simultaneously long and short sighted he was somewhat surprised to be turned down by British Railways when he applied to become an engine driver. Since the railways didn't want him he decided to write about them instead and has written extensively for railway magazines over the last decade. For the last two years he has been completing a post-graduate 'Certificate in Railway Studies' run jointly by the National rail Museum and the University of York. He is married with three grown up children.
