E.C. Bentley’s Followers (46)

E.C. Bentley

Born

in London, The United Kingdom

July 10, 1875

Died

March 30, 1956

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers

Influences

Dorothy L. Sayers

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E. C. Bentley (full name Edmund Clerihew Bentley; 10 July 1875 – 30 March 1956) was a popular English novelist and humorist of the early twentieth century, and the inventor of the clerihew, an irregular form of humorous verse on biographical topics. One of the best known is this (1905):

Sir Christopher Wren
Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St. Paul's."

Bentley was born in London and educated at St Paul's School and Merton College, Oxford. His father, John Edmund Bentley, was professionally a civil servant but was also a rugby union international having played in the first ever international match for England against Scotland in 1871. Bentley worked as a journalist on several newspapers, including the Da E. C. Bentley (full name Edmund Clerihew Bentley; 10 July 1875 – 30 March 1956) was a popular English novelist and humorist of the early twentieth century, and the inventor of the clerihew, an irregular form of humorous verse on biographical topics. One of the best known is this (1905):

Sir Christopher Wren
Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St. Paul's."

Bentley was born in London and educated at St Paul's School and Merton College, Oxford. His father, John Edmund Bentley, was professionally a civil servant but was also a rugby union international having played in the first ever international match for England against Scotland in 1871. Bentley worked as a journalist on several newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph.[citation needed] He also worked for the imperialist weekly called The Outlook during the editorship of James Louis Garvin. His first published collection of poetry, titled Biography for Beginners (1905), popularized the clerihew form; it was followed by two other collections, More Biography (1929) and Baseless Biography (1939).[2] His detective novel, Trent's Last Case (1913),[4] was much praised, numbering Dorothy L. Sayers among its admirers, and with its labyrinthine and mystifying plotting can be seen as the first truly modern mystery. It was adapted as a film in 1920, 1929, and 1952. The success of the work inspired him, after 23 years, to write a sequel, Trent's Own Case (1936). There was also a book of Trent short stories, Trent Intervenes. Several of his books were reprinted in the early 2000s by House of Stratus.

From 1936 until 1949 Bentley was president of the Detection Club. He contributed to two crime stories for the club's radio serials broadcast in 1930 and 1931,[5] which were published in 1983 as The Scoop and Behind The Screen. In 1950 he contributed the introduction to a Constable & Co omnibus edition of Damon Runyon's "stories of the bandits of Broadway", which was republished by Penguin Books in 1990 as On Broadway.

He died in 1956 in London at the age of 80. His son Nicolas Bentley was a famous illustrator.

Phonographic recordings of his work "Recordings for the Blind" are heard in the movie Places in the Heart, by the character Mr. Will.

G. K. Chesterton dedicated his popular detective novel on anarchist terrorism, The Man Who Was Thursday, to Edmund Clerihew Bentley, a schoolfriend.

(from Wikipedia) ...more

Combine Editions
E.C. Bentley’s books

Average rating: 4.04 · 10,876 ratings · 804 reviews · 83 distinct works • Similar authors

	Trent's Last Case (Philip Trent, #1) 3.76 avg rating — 4,121 ratings — published 1913 — 112 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trent's Own Case (Philip Trent #2) 3.42 avg rating — 166 ratings — published 1936 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trent Intervenes (Philip Trent #3) 3.56 avg rating — 115 ratings — published 1938 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Biography for Beginners by E.C. Bentley, G.K. Chesterton (Illustrations) 3.66 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 1905 — 54 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Clerihews of E. Clerihew Bentley by E.C. Bentley, G.K. Chesterton (Illustrator), Victor Reinganum (Illustrator) 3.33 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1981 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ordinary Hairpins 3.83 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1916	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The First Clerihews 4.25 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1893 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Elephant's Work 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2001 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trent's Case Book 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1980 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Trent's Last Case The Woman In Black 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by E.C. Bentley

Philip Trent (3 books)
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E.C. Bentley

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Quotes by E.C. Bentley (?)

“Sir Christopher Wren
Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St. Paul's.”
― E. C. Bentley

379 likes

“Sir Christopher Wren
Said, 'I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls
Say I am designing St. Paul's.”
― Edmund Clerihew Bentley

tags: christopher-wren, humor, science, st-paul-s-cathedral, wren

3 likes

“Mr. Cupples came out of his reverie. "I think," he said, "I will have milk and soda-water." "Speak lower!" urged Trent. "The head-waiter has a weak heart, and he might hear you.”
― E.C. Bentley, Trent's Last Case

tags: amateur-detective, humor, humour

2 likes

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Polls

Which golden age mystery would you like to read with us during March 2025? Please vote here.

The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton

33 votes, 49.3%

Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley

15 votes, 22.4%

The Case of the Dead Diplomat by Basil Thomson

10 votes, 14.9%

Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon

9 votes, 13.4%

67 total votes

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E.C. Bentley’s Followers (46)

E.C. Bentley

Combine EditionsE.C. Bentley’s books

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E.C. Bentley’s books