Thackeray, William Makepeace MD (1769-1849)

Journal of W M Thackeray as a medical student in Paris, 18 June - [12 August] 1792. With a photocopy of a typed transcript of the diary. The writer left London on 18 June, apparently accompanied by his brother Frederick (1774-1852) MD 1820, and at least one other unnamed brother. The group arrived in Paris on 22 June and lodged in a `coffee house' in the Rue St Benoït near the Palais Royal. There is a note in French relating to the conditions of lodging, apparently written by the proprietor, inside the front cover. Thackeray describes visits to hospitals to inspect medical and surgical cases and attend lectures, notably by François Chopart (1743-1795), surgeon-in-chief of the hospice of the Ecole de Médecine, and Pierre-Joseph Desault (1738-1795), surgeon-in-chief of the Hötel Dieu. Among other English medical students encountered was [Astley Paston] Cooper (1768-1841), ff. 19r.-v., and 23r. Included also are visits to the Palais Royal, the Louvre, Versailles and Fontainebleau. Among political events, Thackeray witnessed debates in the Legislative Assembly (10-11 July), ff. 15v.-16r., the laying of the foundation stone of the Column of Liberty on the site of the Bastille (14 July), ff. 17r.-19r., the departure of troops for the frontiers, and the aftermath of the sack of the Tuilleries (10 August), f. 27r.-v. Towards the end of July Thackeray moved to Villeneuve St Georges, up-river from the city, to lodge with an abbé who kept a school. The journal breaks off abruptly after Thackeray's departure from Villeneuve St Georges on 12 August, suggesting a hurried return to England.

1792

42 ff. 29-42 blank. 1 vol., 150x 100 mm. Light-brown leather covers. Some pages near the front are detached.

Purchased at Phillips's sale, 5 Nov. 1999, lot 668.

Database description transcribed from Richard Aspin and Christopher Hilton's typescript supplement to S.A.J Moorat's Catalogue of Western Manuscripts

Ownership inscription inside rear cover (upside down): `W.M. Thackeray. June 15. 1792.' At the time the transcript was made the diary belonged to a Mr Robert Herring.