''The Happy Hypocrite: A Fairy Tale for Tired Men'' is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

with moral implications, first published in a separate volume by

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...

in 1897. His earliest short story, "The Happy Hypocrite" first appeared in Volume XI of ''

The Yellow Book ''The Yellow Book'' was a British quarterly literary periodical that was published in London from 1894 to 1897. It was published at The Bodley Head Publishing House by Elkin Mathews and John Lane, and later by John Lane alone, and edited by th ...

'' in October, 1896. Beerbohm's tale is a lighter, more humorous version of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's 1890 classic tale of moral degeneration, ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...

''. ''The Happy Hypocrite'' tells the story of a man who deceives a woman with a mask in order to marry her. The book was published by John Lane at

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1897. In 1900 the story was produced as a stage show at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

in London starring Frank Mills and

Mrs Patrick Campbell Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Shaw and J. M. ...

. In 1936 the play, with a new script by

Clemence Dane Winifred Ashton CBE, better known by the pseudonym Clemence Dane (21 February 1888 – 28 March 1965), was an English novelist and playwright. Life and career After completing her education, Dane went to Switzerland to work as a French tutor ...

and music by Richard Addinsell, was revived at His Majesty's Theatre starring

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

, Isabel Jeans and

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring (23 May 191230 September 1998) was an English stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell and Pressburger, Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in ''A Matter of Life and D ...

. An edition with colour illustrations by George Sheringham was published by John Lane in November 1918. The story was adapted as a one-act

radio opera Radio opera (German: 'Funkoper' or 'Radiooper') is a genre of opera. It refers to operas which were specifically composed to be performed on the radio and is not to be confused with broadcasts of operas which were originally written for the stage. ...

, ''Lord Inferno'', by Giorgio Federico Ghedini to a libretto by Franco Antonicelli; it premiered on

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

on 22 October 1952. It was staged as ''L'ipocrita felice'' at the Piccola Scala in Milan on 10 March 1956.

Plot summary

The protagonist is named Lord George

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. A worldly man, he is a dandy, fond of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among ...

, womanising, and the like. He is enjoying lavish outdoor entertainment in

with his lover, La Gambogi, when a young and innocent dancer named Jenny Mere performs on the stage. A

dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

sitting with Lord George, revealed to be

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

, shoots his arrow into Lord George's breast. Lord George boldly proposes marriage to Jenny, but she says that she will only marry a man with the face of a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. Confused, Lord George spends the night wandering the streets, heartbroken. In the morning, he stumbles upon a mask maker shop of a man named Mr. Aeneas. He purchases a saint's face mask, custom altered to bear the mark of true love. La Gambogi, who sees him leave the shop with his new false face, confronts him, but he pretends not to know her and retreats to

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, intending to return to

that evening to see Jenny perform again. However, while viewing his new look in the reflection of a brook, he sees Jenny, leaps across the brook and proposes marriage. Jenny accepts. Starting with signing the marriage register as "George

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

", Lord George makes a total moral conversion by returning ill-gotten wealth to gamblers he had cheated to the rightful owners, donating excess money to

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

. He then buys a woodman's

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

to live a quiet, modest existence. The newlyweds lead a simple life subsisting on "''bread and honey and little strawberries ... seed-cake and dewberry wine''". One month after the marriage, as the happy couple is celebrating the occasion, La Gambogi shows up and refuses to leave until she is granted one last look at Lord George's true face. A scuffle between the three people results in La Gambogi tearing off George's mask. Although he fears that his true love is lost, it turns out that his face has assumed the contours of the mask. Jenny concludes with ecstasy that he was testing her fidelity for a time before revealing his true beautiful face. La Gambogi leaves the couple happily kissing as the mask melts in the sun.

References

External links

''The Happy Hypocrite''
Online text

Colour illustrated edition reissue * {{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Hypocrite, The 1897 short stories British short stories Works by Max Beerbohm Works originally published in The Yellow Book Fantasy short stories The Picture of Dorian Gray

Plot summary

See also

References

External links