Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (1872-1956), known as Max Beerbohm, was an influential English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist. He gained prominence in the 1890s for his wit, humor, and satirical commentary on society. Beerbohm worked as the drama critic for The Saturday Review from 1898 to 1910 before relocating to Rapallo, Italy, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He also became known for his occasional radio broadcasts in his later years. Beerbohm's most famous work is Zuleika Dobson (1911), a satirical novel about university life. He was also renowned for his caricatures of public figures, which are held in many major collections. Born in London, Beerbohm was the youngest of nine children. His father, Julius Ewald Edward Beerbohm, was a Lithuanian-born grain merchant, and his mother, Eliza Draper Beerbohm, came from a distinguished family. Among his other notable works are The Works of Max Beerbohm (1896), A Defence of Cosmetics (1896), The Happy Hypocrite (1897), More (1899), and Yet Again (1909). His legacy endures as one of the leading satirists of his era.
