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Edmund Clerihew Bentley

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Poet

The Resume

    (July 10, 1875-March 30, 1956)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Humorist and poet
    Wrote the detective novel 'Trent's Last Case' (1913)
    Developed the clerihew: a humorous four-line poem about a famous person using an AABB rhyme pattern and irregular meter and line lengths
    Published three volumes of clerihews: 'Biography for Beginners' (1905), 'More Biography' (1929) and 'Baseless Biography' (1939)
    Bentley's own favorite clerihew:
    Sir Christopher Wren
    Said 'I am going to dine with some men
    If anyone calls
    Say I am designing St. Paul's'

Why he might be annoying:

    He originally studied law before giving it up for journalism.
    Despite what the title implies, 'Trent's Last Case' has a sequel.
    Why the heck are they called 'clerihews' instead of 'bentleys'?

Why he might not be annoying:

    At St. Paul's School, he became a lifelong friend of G.K. Chesterton, who illustrated 'Biography for Beginners' and dedicated 'The Man Who Was Thursday' to Bentley.
    He was president of the Oxford Debating Society.
    Dorothy L. Sayers praised 'Trent's Last Case' as the beginning of the modern mystery novel, citing its complex plot, realism and lack of purple prose.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying