The Complete Nonsense Of Edward Lear

Edward Lear began his career as an ornithological illustrator, becoming one of the first major artists to draw birds from living models. During this period he was employed to paint the birds from the private menagerie owned by Edward Stanley, the 13th Earl of Derby and one of Lear’s closest friends. In 1837, Lear’s health started to decline. His deteriorating eyesight and failing lungs forced him to abandon the detailed painting required for depicting birds, and, with the help of the earl, he moved to Rome where he established himself as a poet of literary nonsense. While Lear was visiting the Earl of Derby, he wrote poems and drew silly sketches to entertain the earl’s children. In 1846, he collected together his pile of limericks and illustrations and published his first poetical book, titled A Book of Nonsense and dedicated to the Earl of Derby and his children. He decided to publish under the pseudonym Derry down Derry, but after he started making plans for more books, he republished under his real name. His next book, Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets wasn’t published until 24 years later, in 1870. Lear then released More Nonsense, which contains more limericks, in 1872, and Laughable Lyrics in 1877. This final book in the series contains many of Lear’s most famous fantastical creatures, such as the Quangle Wangle. The influence of Lear’s poetry in the twentieth-century can be seen in styles like the surrealism movement and the theater of the absurd.

Every line of every nonsense book written by the celebrated humorist and author of "The Owl and the Pussycat." Illustrated by more than 500 of Lear's quirky drawings. Includes two selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

"A Book of Nonsense" by Edward Lear. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

This edition of Lear's work contains all the verse and stories of "The Book of Nonsense", "More Nonsense", "Nonsense Songs", "Nonsense Stories and Nonsense Alphabets" and "Nonsense Cookery".

A collection of over 100 limericks with the author's original illustrations.

Edward Lear’s best-loved nonsense poem about the magical adventure of the Owl and the Pussycat who went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat, specially retold for beginner readers as part of the Usborne Reading Programme. Includes audio. "Crack reading and make confident and enthusiastic readers with this fantastic reading programme." - Julia Eccleshare

Over 90 delightful limericks and 12 longer poems, including such classics as "The Owl and the Pussy-cat," "The Jumblies," and "Calico Pie," all accompanied by Lear's amusing illustrations.

This collection demonstrates the varied ways in which Edward Lear pursued his philosophy of life. It includes 'The Owl and the Pussy-cat', 'The Quangle Wangle's Hat', and numerous comic limericks, along with stories, letters, alphabets and recipes. This ed. originally published: 2002.