The Roundabout Papers are a series of informal essays Thackeray wrote for the Cornhill Magazine, which he edited, in the last years of his life. They wander freely between memories, books, travel, food, gossip, writing and the habits of the age. The tone is that of a friendly, humorous talker who sits down with the reader and drifts from subject to subject. They give a warm picture of the author himself and of Victorian literary life.