Special Issue, Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film Call for Papers: 

Adapting Thackeray 

Is Thackeray adaptable? William Makepeace Thackeray was one of the titans of the Victorian age whose realistic works and characters satirized and moralized British society. While theatrical and cinematic adaptions of his works pale in comparison to other novelists like Dickens, many throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century reimagined Thackeray and his characters, particularly Becky Sharp, Colonel Newcombe, Barry Lyndon, and Arthur Pendennis. Attempts at adapting Thackeray produced stirring successes and complete failures from authors and dramatists including Dion Boucicault, J.M. Barrie, Langdon Mitchell, and John Brougham. These productions reworked Thackeray while exploring a number of social and cultural issues surrounding gender, empire, performance, and war. This special issue is interested in investigating the ways Thackeray has been adapted on the stage and early screen, but also in shining a light on the actors, directors, and performances that brought his works to life.  

Topics can include:

19th/20th Century Early Film/Theater adaptions of Thackeray 

Thackeray and Empire

Gender/Queer Thackeray 

Thackeray and Theater

Transmedia Adaptations

Thackeray and Performance

Disability and Thackeray  

Thackeray and Theatre/Film history 

Please send paper abstracts of 250 words with short bio (100 words) by January 19th 2026 to Matthew Skwiat at Matthew.Skwiat@morehouse.edu and Christina Jen at christina.jen@sus.edu. Acceptances will be sent out by February 9th. Final articles are due June 1st 2026 and should be between 5000-8000, words inclusive of citation.