Biography for Beginners

Possibly the easiest book to read, Biography for Beginners consists of a four line ditty describing the identifying bent of some famous man, plus a caricature by GK Chesterton, illustrating that trait. It is whimsical but accurate, in the nature of better political cartoons. The subjects tend to be names from pop culture and British history, so many will not be recognized, particularly by Americans. But the British are just as dismissive of what preceded their own self importance, and will puzzle over many. Nonetheless, the book gets republished again and again, and we are rapidly approaching its hundredth anniversary.

At the back, the author divides the biographies by adjective, listing the men by the words that describe them. Of note is Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s, who appears 24 times. Not bad for a four line description. Apparently Mr. Bentley had an issue with Wren. Or Wren was an outsized brigand – I mean character. Or both.

The whole exercise reminds me of Félix Fénéon, a newspaper editor who wrote entire stories in three lines, about two decades before Bentley’s book. The English translation/collection is called Novels in Three Lines. His stories are so elegant, I am delighted Bentley followed up in English.

There is always history in biographies and with this fun to read book you also get geography as many of the biographies are English, many are not. The illustrations are wonderful but some what dated in flavor. It's all good,

Although this short book has been around for a long time, it is now being republished by Dover Publications. It consists of "biographies" of persons written in four lines of rhyming verse. The biographies generally focus on only one thing about each person. The illustrations are drawings done by G. K. Chesterton. Some of the rhymes are better than others. Some of the persons included are not likely to be recognized by a 21st century audience. The premise of the book is entertaining, and I'm certain that the audience at the time it was written laughed out loud at many of the rhymes. This review is based on an advance review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation that a review be written.

✔ "Karl Marx Wrapped Up in his Sharks"

"Funny quips by the sharp-tongued Mr Edmund Clerihew,
Lead me to write this brief but pointed review;
When we add snarky sketches penned by G.K.,
We entice the harried reader to stay."

This is a re-publication of the third edition of the original Biography for Beginners, published in 1925. I admit I had never heard of this little gem. The 4-line quips are known as, what else? "Clerihews."

I can't decide what I like better--the clever 4-line clerihews or the Chesterton comics. The quips sound a lot like Chesterton--they have that "snarky" feel to them like Chesterton writes. For those readers familiar with Dr. Johnson' Dictionary, these quips sound similar to Johnson's cracks.

Of course, Chesterton is known for his sharp literary tongue--but sketches? Had no idea of his artistic talent. These are really well-done.

One of my favoite Clerihews:

"That you have all heard of Hume I tacitly assume;
But you didn't know, perhaps,
That his parents were Lapps."

Were Hume's parents really Lapps? It looks like Chesterton thought so; at least his sketch shows two eskimo-looking folks on snowshoes.

The end of the book contains an "Index of Psychology," which is a nice sorting of all the attributes to the various subjects. For instance, we discover that the attributes of "Contentions and disagreements, love of," is a quality of Erasmus, Besant and Rice, Clifford, and Raleigh.

✔ Lots of funny quips paired with even funnier illustrations by Chesterton. Recommend!

♫ A Review by Chris Lawson

I wonder sometimes if there is such a thing as "smart laughs". What qualifies as a "smart laugh" really seems to be nothing more than obscure references.

This short book (it only takes 10 minutes to read) also might qualify. Bentley takes the greatest minds in history and compresses their lifework into smart ass absurd poetry.