ABSTRACT
In 1851 Anne Thackeray Ritchie contributed to Punch two complementary pieces which are essential reading for anyone wishing to 'place' his German discourse. The first of these has never been reprinted, and is therefore given in full. The Sclavonian and Italian provinces of Austria have joined the German Confederation, sauerkraut may be said to have taken root over the greater portion of Europe: and the friends of the cause of order in this country may have reason to rejoice in their assault on Lord Palmerston. The perspective is again reversed in the second important piece which Thackeray contributed to Punch in the first half of 1851. 'A Strange Man Just Discovered in Germany' begins in a mode of German discourse which would be familiar to the readers of Thackeray and of Punch. Thackeray's main efforts during 1851 were devoted to the composition of the first (and only) novel he published, not in serial parts, but as a whole.
