Seven Men (New York Review Books Classics) [Paperback]

Max Beerbohm (Author), John Updike (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: New York Review Books Classics | Publication Date: October 31, 2000

In Seven Men the brilliant English caricaturist and critic Max Beerbohm turns his comic searchlight upon the fantastic fin-de-siècle world of the 1890s—the age of Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, and the young Yeats, as well of Beerbohm's own first success. In a series of luminous sketches, Beerbohm captures the likes of Enoch Soames, only begetter of the neglected poetic masterwork Fungoids; Maltby and Braxton, two fashionable novelists caught in a bitter rivalry; and "Savonarola" Brown, author of a truly incredible tragedy encompassing the entire Italian Renaissance. One of the masterpieces of modern humorous writing, Seven Men is also a shrewdly perceptive, heartfelt homage to the wonderfully eccentric character of a bygone age.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In the case of [Seven Men] it is difficult to restrain praise...for its beneficent, limpid ridicule is an undiluted joy." -- The Spectator

''As a parodist, he is probably the finest in English.'' -- W.H.Auden

''The most faultless of my contemporaries. . .I prefer Seven Men to all his other books.'' -- Bertrand Russell

About the Author

Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (1872-1956) was born in London and studied at Oxford. He published his first collection of essays, entitled The Works of Max Beerbohm, in 1896 and soon established a reputation as a brilliant caricaturist and critic. He was married to the American actress Florence Kahn and lived in Rapallo, Italy, for most of his life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: NYRB Classics; Reprint edition (October 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940322544
• ISBN-13: 978-0940322547
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do Not Buy This Edition!, March 24, 2008

By 

D. Abrams "foodpro13" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seven Men (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

This is not a review of Seven Men, which is a wonderful book, well worth reading. Instead, this is a review of the Dodo Press edition of the book. Hard to believe, but it is not a complete version of the book, and is missing two chapters! It's not "Seven Men" but instead, just"Five Men!" Definitely read this book, but purchase the NYRBC edition instead -- it's actually the complete book!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The juggler vs. the strong man, February 10, 2001

By 

Cowboy Bill "cowboybill" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seven Men (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

I first read "Seven Men" a few years back when Harold Bloom listed it as essential reading in his book on the Western canon.

The book consists of short fictional portraits of various characters in the world of Edwardian arts and letters. Beerbohm was a satirist with a nimble touch -- he had the ability to poke fun at the pretensions of the art world while maintaining a gentle, bemused humanism.

Sir Max seemed to view the vanity and foibles of human nature not so much with scorn as with an endless amusement, and reading any of his essays or parodies or satires is like spending the evening chatting with a wise and witty friend.

Beerbohm once wrote, "How many charming talents have been spoiled by the instilled desire to do 'important' work! Some people are born to lift heavy weights. Some are born to juggle with golden balls." Beerbohm was an admitted juggler, and yet his seemingly "light" work is ultimately more insightful than most so-called serious projects. And often much funnier.

Beerbohm was also quite a caricaturist, and his theater reviews (many out of print) are still great to read all these decades later.

Get hold of this book and start off with the classics "Enoch Soames," the story of a third-rate poet who, convinced of his own greatness, makes a deal with the Devil in order to travel to the future to enjoy his posthumous success (with comic results), and "Savonarola Brown," a hilarious sketch of a frustrated playwright and his great "unfinished" opus.

Beerbohm's contemporaries referred to him as "the incomparable Max," and it's a title that fits. I wish I could've met him.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Divine Max, August 24, 2001

By 

bibliomane01 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Men (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

Bernard Shaw called Beerbohm "the divine Max," and this collection of short pieces will tell you why. The book consists of short character sketches of six men (Beerbohm is the ever present seventh), and each one is a small masterpiece of Edwardian parody and humour. Beerbohm's line sketches of each one of his (imaginary?!) characters are included at the end of the book. Some of the tales have an unexpectedly supernatural twist (the neo-Faustian bargain struck by Enoch Soames being the best of the lot). Three cheers for the NYRB Press for bringing these forgotten gems back into print.