Max Beerbohm (1872–1956)
George Hand Wright (1872–1951), illustrator
“Enoch Soames” in Century Magazine
New York: The Century Co., May 1916
Item 65: “Enoch Soames” in Century Magazine (1916)
Several short stories in Beerbohm’s volume Seven Men appeared first in Century Magazine. For its American debut in 1916, “Enoch Soames” was illustrated by the Philadelphia-born artist, George Hand Wright, who also worked for The Saturday Review. Beerbohm disliked the results. Wright’s devil, for instance, seemed insufficiently large and overbearing, while his Soames was not as haggard or hapless-looking as Beerbohm’s inspired fictional takedown of Decadent wannabes. Though it satirized untalented poseurs who longed for adulation, “Enoch Soames” also paid tribute to actual 1890s celebrities, including Beerbohm’s great friend William Rothenstein, and Henry Harland, literary editor of The Yellow Book—and, though ironically, to Beerbohm himself.
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries.
