Max Beerbohm (1872-1956)

'The incomparable Max', as George Bernard Shaw described him, was a man of enormous charm and hugely varied talents. Of Baltic descent and the son of a prosperous corn merchant, Beerbohm was educated at Merton College, Oxford, where he first gained a reputation as a writer. He met many aesthetes, including Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, and contributed to the first volume of 'The Yellow Book' in 1894.

He early celebrity as an essayist increased with the publication in 1911 of the fantasy novel 'Zuleika Dobson', set in Oxford. He became equally famous as a caricaturist, with his first important book of cartoons, 'The Poets' Corner', appearing in 1904. This was followed by eight further compilations between 1907 and 1937, including 'Rossetti and his Circle' (1922). Beerbohm produced over two thousand known works.

Beerbohm and his American wife, actress Florence Kahn; lived in Rapallo, Italy, returning to England for the duration of the two world wars. Long retaining an affectionate reputation as both dandy and humorist, Beerbohm became a regular radio broadcaster, and was knighted in 1939. He died in Rapallo on 20 May 1956.