The popular novelist and humorist gave a series of lectures on the Hanoverian monarchs.The Four Georges (1859) collects his talks on the first four of these monarchs, which were heard on his tours of the United States in 1852-53 and 1855-56.

William Makepeace Thackeray (18111863), a British satirical writer, also wrote magazine articles and travel books. His most devoted readers were lords and ladies, whom he satirized in his works. He is best known for his novelsVanity Fair andThe Luck of Barry Lyndon, which skewer the pretensions of English high society.