Nicolas Clerihew Bentley (14 June 1907 – 14 August 1978) was a British writer and illustrator, best known for his humorous cartoon drawings in books and magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. The son of

Edmund Clerihew Bentley Edmund Clerihew Bentley (10 July 1875 – 30 March 1956), who generally published under the names E. C. Bentley or E. Clerihew Bentley, was a popular English novelist and humorist, and inventor of the clerihew, an irregular form of humorous verse ...

(inventor of the

clerihew A clerihew () is a whimsical, four-line biographical poem of a type invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. The first line is the name of the poem's subject, usually a famous person, and the remainder puts the subject in an absurd light or reveals som ...

verse form), he was given the name Nicholas, but opted to change the spelling.

Early career

Nicholas Clerihew Bentley was born on 14 June 1907 at

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

in London. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, which he left at the age of 17, having decided that his academic abilities would not take him to university. He then enrolled at Heatherleys School of Fine Art, a prestigious private college, but left after a few months. After leaving Heatherley's, Bentley worked without pay as a clown in a circus. When this job ended, he was a film extra; and during the

General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

of 1926 he worked on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

Professional illustration

It was at this time that Bentley sold his first drawing to his godfather, G. K. Chesterton. He had a commission to draw illustrations for a trade newspaper called ''Man and his clothes'' in 1928, and his first regular job as an illustrator was in the publicity department of

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

. Bentley worked for Shell for three years, but disliked working in advertising. In 1930,

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. ...

(who was a friend of his father) invited him to illustrate his book ''New Cautionary Tales''. The good critical reception of this book and its illustrations allowed him to go freelance.

Publishing career

As well as becoming a freelance artist, writer and journalist, Bentley also followed a career in publishing. From 1950 he was director of Andre Deutsch. He later worked as an editor for Mitchell Beazley Ltd; for Sunday Times Publications from 1962 to 1963; and for Thomas Nelson from 1963 to 1967.

Author and Illustrator

During the 1930s Bentley illustrated works ranging from

J. B. Morton John Cameron Andrieu Bingham Michael Morton, better known by his preferred abbreviation J. B. Morton (7 June 1893 – 10 May 1979) was an English humorous writer noted for authoring a column called "By the Way" under the pen name ' Beachcomber' i ...

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To ...

. His most famous drawings were to illustrate T. S. Eliot's ''

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'' ...

'', but he illustrated more than 70 books in the course of a long career. He customarily used the

byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably '' Reader' ...

"Nicolas Bentley drew the pictures". His favourite illustration work was for his own books and he considered himself primarily an author. One of his best-known books, ''Ready Refusals, or, The White Liar's Engagement Book'' gives a quotation for every day of the year, drawn from a surprisingly wide range of sources, together with an appropriate illustration. He also wrote and illustrated ''Golden Sovereigns – and some of lesser value – from Boadicea to Elizabeth II'' (1970), a humorous book about the English/British monarchy.

Marriage

On 17 October 1934, he married Barbara Hastings (1908–1989), a writer of children's books and the daughter of Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings; they had one child, Arabella, in 1943.

Post-war work

Bentley had enrolled as an auxiliary fireman in 1938 and served in the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, inc ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He illustrated ''

How to be an Alien ''How to be an Alien'' is a humorous book by George Mikes, illustrated by Nicolas Bentley and published in 1946. It was Mikes' second book and is the most famous of the 44 he wrote.George Mikes George Mikes ( hu, Mikes György, ; 15 February 1912 – 30 August 1987) was a Hungarian-born British journalist, humorist and writer, best known for his humorous commentaries on various countries. Life George Mikes ( Hungarian: ) was born ...

. After the war he took a few regular cartooning jobs, including on ''

Time and Tide Time and Tide (usually derived from the proverb ''Time and tide wait for no man'') may refer to: Music Albums * ''Time and Tide'' (Greenslade album), 1975 * ''Time and Tide'' (Basia album), 1987 * ''Time and Tide'' (Battlefield Band album), ...

'' (1952–54) and drawing pocket cartoons for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' from 1958. He gave this job up in 1962, complaining that it put too much strain on him. In later life he was the illustrator for

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh (17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was an English journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

's Diary in ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent critici ...

'' and contributed other cartoons to the magazine. He moved to Downhead, near

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based ...

in Somerset. He died on 14 August 1978, in the

Royal United Hospital The Royal United Hospital (RUH) is a major acute-care hospital in the Weston suburb of Bath, England, which lies approximately west of the city centre. The hospital has 565 beds and occupies a site. It is the area's major accident and emergency ...

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. His autobiography, ''A Version of the Truth'', was published in 1960. On his death, Auberon Waugh wrote in ''Private Eye'': "Nick was a gentle, modest, humorous man, with none of the usual characteristics of the highly individual genius which inspired his quiet professionalism and supreme technical ability."

Books written and illustrated (selected)

* ''All Fall Down'' (Nicholson & Watson, 1932) * ''Die? I Thought I'd Laugh'' (Methuen, 1936) * ''Ballet-Hoo'' (Cresset, 1937) * ''Le Sport'' (Gollancz, 1937) * ''The Tongue-Tied Canary'' (Joseph, 1948) * ''

The Floating Dutchman ''The Floating Dutchman'' is a 1952 British crime film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Dermot Walsh, Sydney Tafler and Mary Germaine. It was known as ''Clue for a Corpse'' on U.S. TV. The film was an early product of Merton Park Studios ...

'' (1950) * ''

Third Party Risk ''Third Party Risk'' is a 1954 British crime drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Lloyd Bridges, Simone Silva and Finlay Currie.Chibnall & McFarlane p.82 It is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Nicholas Bentley. It was pr ...

'' (Michael Joseph, 1953) * ''How can you bear to be human?'' (Deutsch, 1957) * ''Nicholas Bentley: A Version of the Truth (Deutsch, 1960)'' * ''The Victorian Scene: 1837-1901'' (Weidenfeld, 1968) * ''Tales From Shakespeare'' (Beazley, 1972) * ''Edwardian Album'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson / Cardinal, 1974) * ''The Dickens Index'' * ''Tales from Shakespeare'' * ''Inside Information'' - crime novel (Deutsch 1974) * ''Nicolas Bentley's Book of Birds'' * ''Second Thoughts''

Books illustrated (selected)

* Bentley, E. C., ''More Biography'' (Methuen, 1929) * Belloc, H., ''New Cautionary Tales'' (Duckworth, 1930) * Morton, J. B., ''The Beachcomber Omnibus'' (Muller, 1931) * Belloc, H., ''Cautionary Verses'' (1940) * Eliot, T. S., ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (Faber, 1940) * Linklater, E., ''

The Wind on the Moon ''The Wind on the Moon: A story for children'' is a fantasy novel by Eric Linklater, published by Macmillan in 1944 with illustrations by Nicolas Bentley. The American division Macmillan US published an edition in the same year. Opening in the ...

'' (Macmillan, 1944) * Southern, Terry, ''The Magic Christian'' (Deutsch, 1959) - dust jacket design only * Duke of Bedford, John, ''The Duke of Bedford's Book of Snobs'' (Peter Owen, 1965)

References

External links

National Portrait Gallery
Nicholas Clerihew Bentley (1953 photograph)
University of Kent: British Cartoons Archive
Biography: Nicholas Bentley * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Nicolas 1907 births 1978 deaths Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art Artists from London People educated at University College School British illustrators People from Highgate