The Happy Hypocrite: A Fairy Tale for Tired Men

by Max Beerbohm

From its magnificent first sentence . . ."None, it is said, of all who revelled with the Regent, was half so wicked as Lord George Hell . . ."The Happy Hypocrite exerts a hypnotising charm. Sir Max Beerbohm's "fairy tale for tired men" is one of the pinnacles of 1890s chic and elegance. His famously rich style, laced with equal parts of tenderness and severity, serves up a story of love, and, more importantly, what we will do for it.George Hell's life as a Regency buck is turned upside down when Jenny Mere, a dancer, arrives in his life. It only remains for him to live up to the pure expectations of this lowly girl. Will he succeed, or will his old wicked habits die hard? Will the world let him forget them? He decides that certain extraordinary measures are necessary to achieve this lofty aim, but never guesses just how much power his love has - and is miraculously transformed.First published in Volume XI of the legendary Yellow Book in 1896, this beautiful fable crowned Beerbohm's reputation as a weaver of glorious fabrics of prose. This edition reproduces George Sheringham's splendid illustrations, first seen in the edition of 1918.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, British Literature, Fantasy, Literature

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1896

About the author

Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm, as "Max," known British writ, apparently wrote Caricatures of Twenty-five Gentlemen in 1896.

Henry Maximilian Beerbohm served as an English essayist, parodist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Bee...

Reviews

[Siv30 · Rating 2 out of 5]

אגדה רומנטית די קיטצ'ית על לורד עשיר, טיפוס די מפוקפק שמתאהב ברקדנית שאינה מעוניינת בו בגלל אופיו הניכר בפניו.

הלורד המתוסכל מחליט לשנות דרכיו אך את פניו אינו יכול להחליף ולכן שם מסכה. הרקדנית מתאהבת בו מידית וגם כשהוא נחשף בפניה בדמותו האמיתית מסתבר שהוא עבר מטמורפוזה ופניו הפכו להיות פני המסכה כל זאת תוך חודש.

קיטצ'י לחלוטין וגם קצת ילדותי. למי שמחפש אגדות אולי הסיפורון הזה יזיז איזה נים ברגשות.

[Lisa of Troy]

Unannotated Book in F. Scott Fitzgerald's College of One

[Gaya Aran · Rating 2 out of 5]

מעין "תמונתו של דוריאן גריי" בכיוון הפוך.
לא הבנתי מדוע כותרת המשנה היא: אגדה לאנשים עייפים. לא הייתי צריכה לגשת אליה עייפה, כי היא עייפה אותי יפה בעצמה.
נובלה סתמית סך הכל.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

After my introduction to Beerbohm via Zuleika Dobson, I promised to revisit this master storyteller and am pleased to say I have done so with my reading of The Happy Hypocrite.

While some second acts have been disappointing, this was certainly not one of them. After this venture, I am ready for more and am saddened that Sir Max Beerbohm is not a more familiar name outside literati.

Also referred to as A Fairy Tale for Tired Men, this is a tale of Lord George Hell, a selfish man who deceives others shamelessly and while considered a man who has it all, realizes he has nothing. Rather than a tale of redemption, however, Beerbohm uses his mastery to weave an ironic tale of raw humanity in all its ugly colors.

Lord George Hell, the book’s namesake, leads a privileged life and suffers no guilt as he cheats those around him. His life, however, has become blasé and his search leads him to a very young actress who has her own naive expectations.

The object of Lord George’s desires, Jenny Mere, is looking for a man with the face of a saint. She believes she can only truly love such a man and no other. Only 16, she is young, beautiful and naive.

Signora Gambogi is a fiery Italian mistress of Lord George and sees what lies ahead. She is not at all please with George’s infatuation and attempts to reveal his true identity to the unsuspecting Jenny.

A meeting with Sir Beerbohm would be heavenly. Perhaps he’d recite this tale as I’m sure his voice would add another level of perfection to this fairy tale. If I had enough nerve, I’d ask him to put create some sketches for The Happy Hypocrite.

My rating for The Happy Hypocrite is a 9 out of 10.

[Grant Bearden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just stumbled on this gem today while reading a Fredrick Buechner book where he made a comparison between the change the protagonist experiences and the taking of the Eucharist. Beautiful short story that I highly recommend. The PDF is available for free online and it only takes a half hour to read.

[Wilson Lindauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Incomparab!e Max

The most major minor author of the turn of the 19th century, Beerbohm is always a delight to read. This gentle fable about the reformation of a Victorian cad is a good example of his unique qualities as a writer.

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This being Beerbohm, I assume it was tongue-in-cheek, parodic, mocking some genre or other, but I found it quite revolting actually. I don't think nowadays we can laugh off an older man deceiving and seducing a 16-year old even though he feeds her on buns.

[Mika]

A short dandy fairytale, bordering on paedophilia but I guess that’s the spirit of the time.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tal y como pone en la portada, el farsante feliz, es un pequeño cuento delicioso y enternecedor.

Lo primero que he leído de su autor, Max Beerbohm me ha parecido correcto. La manera de escribir resulta elegante y fluida. Con sus descripciones concisas y unas notas al pie, la mar de curiosas e interesante, creo que invención del propio autor.

La historia es sencilla y bonita. En esencia seguimos a Lord George Hell, individuo mujeriego y de dudosa moral, que decide cambiar tan pronto se enamora perdidamente de Jenny Mere, una pésima bailarina. Ésta rechaza la proposición de matrimonio, alegando que solo se casará con un hombre que tenga la cara de un santo (¿?), por lo que Lord George utilizará una máscara para poder conquistarla.
En esencia, este cuento trata de como el poder del amor es capaz de reformarnos y hacernos ir por el buen camino. Su corta duración, así como su agradable historia hacen que leerlo sea una curiosa novedad.

Resumiendo, el farsante feliz, es pequeña joya que nos enseña una gran lección: el amor es increíble y su poder, prácticamente ilimitado.

[Juan Guillermo Fridkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ElFarsanteFeliz de #MaxBeerbohn.
.
Excelente relato que se lee tranquilamente en un día de playa.
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Lord George Hell es un jugador, estafador, mentiroso, mujeriego que se enamora de la joven Jenny Mere. Ella lo rechaza diciéndole que sólo se casará con un hombre con cara de santo. A partir de allí, Lord George Hell, empezará a usar una máscara de cera para siempre para poder conquistarla. En el final aparece una examante que lo cambiará todo.... O no.

[Mary Showalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting!

As one reviewer observed, this is akin to a reversal of The Portrait of Dorian Gray. It’s a tale of love, atonement, and redemption. A short and easy read which I will recommend to my friends and family.

[Sarah K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ridiculous, but the 1915 illustrated edition is absolutely gorgeous

[Skjam! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed as part of an anthology here: http://www.skjam.com/2022/08/11/book-...

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tale about a man who wears a mask to win his love. There is some introspection here, but overall this was just so-so for me.

included in "The Golden Argosy" edited by Cartmell and Grayson

[Ronald J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written story of redemption, even though the act was done with deceit. I learned of this book from Russ Roberts on EconTalk.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story that's a reversal of Dorian Gray. Rather than a beautiful face hiding an evil nature, a beautiful face reforms that nature--and eventually the face. The truth of masks.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to read these sorts of historical / satirical texts with anything other than an eye for the era. This is gently amusing, a comedy of manners-type thing.

[Javierdelar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia muy sencilla. Un cuento con moraleja. Si te empeñas en hacer el bien terminarás haciéndote bien a ti mismo. Aunque tal vez no te des cuenta de que has cambiado.

[Moran · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok short legend-like story.

[Arman · Rating 1 out of 5]

احتمالا اگه مردمِ 200 سال پیش این داستان رو می خوندن می شد که بهش 3 بدن، ولی توی سال 2015 واقعا نمیشه بیشتر از یک ستاره بهش داشت
راجع به داستان هم چیز خاصی ندارم بگم. تنها نقطه غیر منفی کتاب پایانش بود

[Doug Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

That'll preach.

[Sramdass · Rating 3 out of 5]

I