Inside Benchley

by Robert Benchley

1942 first edition. Illustrated by Gluyas Williams. 316 pages. NF/no DJ. Description; red boards with black titles on yellow block on the spine only, illustrated front board, illustrated endpapers, two color title page, rough cut leading edge of pages.

Genres: Humor, Fiction

131 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Works, including How to Sleep , the film of 1935, and My Ten Years in a Quandary , the book of 1936, of Robert Charles Benchley, humorist, critic, and actor, often pitted an average American against the complexities of modern life.

People best knew Robert Charles Benchley as a newspaper columnist. He began at the Lampoon and meanwhile attended Harvard University and wrote many essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.
From New York City and his peers at the Algonquin Round Table, short style brought acclaim, respect, and success to Benchley to contemporaries in the burgeoning industry.

Benchley contributed best remembered influential topical or absurdist essays to The New Yorker. He also made a name in Hollywood, when his popular success won best short subject at the academy awards of 1935, and his many memorable appearances in such as Foreign Correspondent of Alfred Joseph Hitchcock and a dramatic turn in Nice Girl? . He wrote his legacy in numerous short appearances.

Reviews

[Larry Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading for those who enjoy a humorous perspective on life in the first half of the 20th century.

But the dry sense of humor and [now] outdated information weighed down the rating. I was predisposed to enjoy reading this, as Benchley was a member of the Algonquin Roundtable.

But, alas, the book did not engage my interest sufficient to declare it more than a mediocre read.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming as usual.

[Miss Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essayist/ columnist from early 20th century.