The Poetry of Edward Lear

The distinguished artist, illustrator, author, and poet Edward Lear was one of the great humourists of the 19th century. He is best remembered for his witty nonsense verse, which has delighted readers of all ages for more than 150 years. Beneath the absurd and playful imaginings of Lear’s poetry there lurks a melancholic streak that was to bedevil him throughout his extraordinarily creative, nomadic life. And it is this that gives his writing its haunting quality. This collection includes “The Owl and the Pussycat”, “The Courtship of the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo”, “The Dong with the Luminous Nose”, and a selection of Lear’s unforgettable limericks, and is interspersed with his own engaging pen-and-ink illustrations.