Catherine: A Story

William Thackeray was a 19th century British novelist. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society. In the early 1840s Thackeray had some success with two travel books, The Paris Sketch Book and The Irish Sketch Book. Catherine Hayes was burned at the stake in Tyburn, in 1726, for the deliberate murder of her husband, under very revolting circumstances. Thackeray was upset with the current crime novels in which criminals were portrayed in a favorable light. He wanted to write a story in which the murderer was seen as a truly vile person.