Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of E.C. Bentley's books

E.C. Bentley’s Followers (49)

E.C. Bentley

Born

in London, The United Kingdom

July 10, 1875

Died

March 30, 1956

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers

Influences

Dorothy L. Sayers

edit data

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 · 11,121 ratings · 849 reviews · 71 distinct works • Similar authors

	Trent's Last Case (Philip Trent, #1) 3.76 avg rating — 4,280 ratings — published 1913 — 1244 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) 3.45 avg rating — 175 ratings — published 1936 — 39 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) 3.59 avg rating — 129 ratings — published 1938 — 27 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) 3.69 avg rating — 32 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) 3.32 avg rating — 28 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 3.75 avg rating — 16 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 — 17 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 and the Fool-Proof Lift liked it 3.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011 — 2 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

More books by E.C. Bentley…

Series by E.C. Bentley

Philip Trent (3 books)
by

E.C. Bentley

3.75 avg rating — 4,609 ratings

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

See all E.C. Bentley's quotes »

Polls

Choose a Fiction book for us to read in July 2013

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

6 votes, 40.0%

Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge

3 votes, 20.0%

Wise Children by Angela Carter

3 votes, 20.0%

The Lost Estate by Alain-Fournier

2 votes, 13.3%

Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

1 vote, 6.7%

Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley

0 votes, 0.0%

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

0 votes, 0.0%

15 total votes

3 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Bright Young Things: The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Chapters 5 - 8	14	16	Feb 07, 2011 04:05PM
The Mystery, Crim...: Winners Chosen: July/August 2011 Group Read	33	360	Jul 01, 2011 06:48PM
Georgette Heyer Fans: Georgette Heyer Challenge 2011	182	98	Jul 18, 2011 12:58PM
English Mysteries...: October 2012 - The Red House Mystery	147	215	Jan 06, 2013 05:46PM
The Mystery, Crim...: Currently Reading? Just Finished?	10119	3959	May 09, 2013 11:36AM
Comfort Reads: What are you reading right now? (SEE NEW THREAD)	7587	2298	Sep 03, 2013 01:13AM
Around the World ...: TA: Circumnavigator / Rogue Traveler 2013	10	89	Sep 16, 2013 09:06AM
The History Book ...: JILL'S 50 BOOKS IN 2014	203	266	Dec 31, 2014 09:46PM

More…

E.C. Bentley’s Followers (49)

E.C. Bentley

Combine EditionsE.C. Bentley’s books

Series by E.C. Bentley

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
E.C. Bentley’s books