That Singular Person Called Lear

Born in 1812, the twentieth child of a stockbroker, Edward Lear never achieved great success or fame in his lifetime. Yet he left behind a legacy of thousands of drawings and watercolours, and he will forever be known for his Nonsense rhymes, particularly The Owl and the Pussycat.

Epilepsy caused Lear literally to see a different world from other people, and in this book Susan Chitty penetrates the complicated and fascinating psychology of a Victorian homosexual who travelled extensively but found that love and a settled home life eluded him. She reveals details of Lear's immensely complicated personality, and the love of his life, with whom he was destined to find no happiness. Illustrated with some of the well-loved illustrations for which Lear became famous, this fascinating biography offers a poignant insight into the life of an immensely talented and deliciously eccentric man for whom life was 'basically tragic and futile' and who felt that 'the only thing that matters is making little jokes.'