This edition includes the following editor's introduction: The parallel lives of two of the great masters of British literature: Dickens and Thackeray

Originally published in 1839 under the pen name of Ikey Solomons, Esq., Jr., "Catherine: A Story" was William Makepeace Thackeray's first full-length work of fiction.
Catherine's character was based on the real life criminal, Catherine Hayes, who was burned at the stake for committing petty treason by killing her husband in London in 1726.