Beerbohm, Sir Max

Beerbohm, Sir Max

▪ British humorist
original name  Henry Maximilian Beerbohm  
born Aug. 24, 1872, London, Eng.
died May 20, 1956, Rapallo, Italy
 English caricaturist, writer, dandy, and wit whose sophisticated drawings and parodies were unique in capturing, usually without malice, whatever was pretentious, affected, or absurd in his famous and fashionable contemporaries. He was called by G.B. Shaw “the incomparable Max.”

      A younger half brother of the actor-producer Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, he was accustomed to fashionable society from his boyhood. While still an undergraduate at Merton College, Oxford, he published witty essays in the famous Yellow Book. In 1895 he toured the United States as press agent for Beerbohm Tree's theatrical company. His first literary collection, The Works of Max Beerbohm, and his first book of drawings, Caricatures of Twenty-five Gentlemen, appeared in 1896. In 1898 he succeeded Shaw as drama critic of the Saturday Review. His charming fable The Happy Hypocrite appeared in 1897 and his only novel, Zuleika Dobson, a burlesque of Oxford life, in 1911. The Christmas Garland (1912) is a group of Christmas stories that mirror the stylistic faults of a number of well-known writers, notably Henry James. His collection of stories, Seven Men (1919), is a masterpiece.

      In 1910 Beerbohm married the American-born British actress Florence Kahn, and they settled in Rapallo, Italy, where, except for a return to England for the duration of World Wars I and II, they made their home for the rest of their lives. He attracted to Rapallo a constant stream of distinguished visitors who were charmed by his conversation and found in him a living archive of amusing anecdotes of the literary, artistic, and social circles of late Victorian and Edwardian England. Though Beerbohm's caricatures hit home, they remained civilized criticism and seldom alienated their subjects. In spite of the fun he had caricaturing successive generations of the royal family, he was knighted in 1939. The only two targets he attacked with ferocity were British imperialism—in the persona of a blustering John Bull—and Rudyard Kipling. As a parodist, he is frequently held to be unsurpassed. After his wife's death in 1951, Beerbohm lived with his secretary-companion, Elizabeth Jungmann, whom he married a few weeks before his death at 84.

Additional Reading
David Cecil, Max, a Biography (1964, reissued 1983); John Felstiner, The Lies of Art: Max Beerbohm's Parody and Caricature (1972).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Beerbohm, Sir (Henry) Max(imilian) — (24 ago. 1872, Londres, Inglaterra–20 may. 1956, Rapallo, Italia). Caricaturista, escritor y dandy inglés. Sus sofisticadas ilustraciones y parodias captaron de manera excepcional y, por lo general, sin malicia, todo rasgo pretencioso, amanerado… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Beerbohm, Sir (Henry) Max(imilian) — born Aug. 24, 1872, London, Eng. died May 20, 1956, Rapallo, Italy English caricaturist, writer, and dandy. His sophisticated drawings and parodies were unique in capturing, usually without malice, whatever was pretentious, affected, or absurd in …   Universalium

  • Beerbohm,Sir Henry Maximilian — Beer·bohm (bîrʹbōm ), Sir Henry Maximilian. Known as “Max.” 1872 1956. British caricaturist, writer, and wit whose Caricatures of Twenty five Gentlemen appeared in 1896. He spent most of his later years in Italy. * * * …   Universalium

  • Beerbohm, Sir (Henry) Max(imilian) —  (1872–1956) British writer and critic …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Max Beerbohm — Portrait de Max Beerbohm Nom de naissance Henry Maximilian Beerbohm Autres noms Max Beerbohm (signature usuelle de ses text …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Max Beerbohm — From The Critic 1901 Born August 24, 1872(1872 08 24) London, England Died May 20, 1956( …   Wikipedia

  • Max Beerbohm — Max Beerbohm, 1901 Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (* 24. August 1872 in London; † 20. Mai 1956 in Rapallo, Italien) war ein englischer Parodist und Karikaturist. Er wurde in London, England, a …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Max Beerbohm — noun English writer and caricaturist (1872 1956) • Syn: ↑Beerbohm, ↑Sir Henry Maxmilian Beerbohm • Instance Hypernyms: ↑writer, ↑author, ↑caricaturist * * * Max …   Useful english dictionary

  • sir — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo masculino Tratamiento honorífico empleado por los británicos. * * * sir (ingl.; pronunc. [ser]) m. *Tratamiento de respeto usado en Inglaterra delante de un nombre de hombre o para dirigirse a la persona de que se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Beerbohm — noun English writer and caricaturist (1872 1956) • Syn: ↑Max Beerbohm, ↑Sir Henry Maxmilian Beerbohm • Instance Hypernyms: ↑writer, ↑author, ↑caricaturist …   Useful english dictionary

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