Hesketh Pearson

Edward Hesketh Gibbons Pearson (20 February 1887 - 9 April 1964) was a British actor, theatre director and writer. He is known mainly for his popular biographies; they made him the leading British biographer of his time, in terms of commercial success.

1 Early life
2 Later years
3 Works
4 Notes
5 References

Early life

Pearson was born in Hawford, Claines, Worcestershire, to a family with a large number of members in Holy Orders. His parents were Thomas Henry Gibbons Pearson, a farmer, and the former Amy Mary Constance Biggs. He was a great-great-great nephew of Francis Galton, whom he described in Modern Men and Mummers. After the family moved to Bedford in 1896, he was educated at Orkney House School for five years, a period he later described as the only unhappy episode in his life, for the compulsive flogging beloved of its headmaster. At 14, he was sent to Bedford Grammar School, where he proved an indifferent student. Rebelling against his father's desire that he study Classics in order to prepare himself for a career in Holy Orders, on graduation he entered commerce, but happily accepted his dismissal as a troublemaker when he inherited £1,000 from a deceased aunt. He employed the funds to travel widely, and on his return joined his brother's car business.

Conservative by temperament, he was a passionate reader of Shakespeare's plays, and a frequent theatre-goer. When his brother's business faced bankruptcy, he applied for a job with Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and began acting with that theatrical entrepreneur's company in 1911. He also acted with the companies of Harley Granville-Barker and Sir George Alexander.

In 1912 he married the actress Gladys Rosalind Bardili. They had a son, Henry Car Hesketh Pearson, who was killed in 1939 in the Spanish Civil War. Gladys died in 1951 and the same year he married Dorothy Joyce Ryder, who survived him. At the outbreak of World War I, Pearson enlisted immediately in the British Army but was soon invalided out when it was discovered that he suffered from tuberculosis. He volunteered for the Army Service Corps and was sent to Mesopotamia, whose climate was conducive to treatment for tuberculosis. He recovered from that malady while there, but contracted several other diseases, septic sores, dysentery and malaria and was close to death on three occasions. He attributed his survival to his practice of reciting long passages of Shakespeare while critically ill. He distinguished himself under fire, and on one occasion received a severe headwound from shrapnel. He was subsequently awarded the Military Cross.

After the war, Pearson returned to the stage and, in 1921, met Hugh Kingsmill, an encounter which, thanks to Kingsmill's charismatic friendship and influence, changed his life.¹

In 1926 the anonymously-published Whispering Gallery, purporting to be diary pages from leading political figures, caused him to be prosecuted for attempted fraud. He won the case.

Later years

Pearson published his first full-length biography, "Doctor Darwin", when he was 43. By the time of his death thirty-four years later he had written another eighteen biographies, three travel books (all with Hugh Kingsmill), three books of reminiscences (one written with Malcolm Muggeridge), four collections of brief lives, a collection of short stories and essays, and a book on the craft of biographical writing, as well as numerous articles and talks. In England he was the most popular and successful biographer of his time.

A mutual interest in Frank Harris led to his meeting Hugh Kingsmill Lunn in 1921, and the two formed a close friendship. Lunn dropped his last name when he began publishing biographies and novels and was known both professionally and privately as Hugh Kingsmill. Together they wrote three books of a unique mix of travel writing, reminiscence, and literary gossip. Kingsmill died in 1949.

Throughout his career Pearson made the acquaintance of many other celebrated writers and performers, including George Bernard Shaw, Frank Harris, Lord Alfred Douglas, Max Beerbohm, Sir Francis Galton, Winston Churchill, P. G. Wodehouse, and G. K. Chesterton. He was also a close friend and collaborator of Malcolm Muggeridge; Richard Ingrams' later biography of Malcolm Muggeridge Muggeridge: The Biography ISBN 0-00-255610-3 claims Pearson had an affair with Kitty Muggeridge, at the beginning of the 1940s, when Malcolm was in Washington D.C..

Works

Modern Men and Mummers (1921) which describes encounters with Francis Galton (whose great-great-great nephew he was)
A Persian Critic (1923)
The Whispering Gallery: Leaves from a Diplomat's Diary (1926) fictional diary, published as an anonymous hoax
Iron Rations (1928) stories
Doctor Darwin (1930) on Erasmus Darwin
Ventilations: Being Biographical Asides (1930)
The Fool of Love. A Life of William Hazlitt(1934)
The Smith of Smiths, Being The Life, Wit and Humour of Sydney Smith (1934)
Common Misquotations (1934) editor
Gilbert and Sullivan: A Biography (1935)
The Swan of Lichfield: being a selection from the correspondence of Anna Seward (1936) editor
Labby: The Life and Character of Henry Labouchere (1936)
Tom Paine. Friend of Mankind: a Biography (1937)
Thinking It Over (1938)
Skye High: The Record of a Tour through Scotland in the Wake of Samuel Johnson and James Boswell (1938) with Hugh Kingsmill
This Blessed Plot (1942)
A Life of Shakespeare: With An Anthology of Shakespeare's Poetry (1942)
Bernard Shaw: His Life and Personality (1942) also G.B.S. A Full Length Portrait (US)
Conan Doyle: His Life and Art (1943)
Oscar Wilde, His Life and Wit (1946)
Talking of Dick Whittington (1947) with Hugh Kingsmill
The Hero of Delhi (1948) on John Nicholson
Dickens, his character, comedy, and career (1949)
G.B.S. A Postscript (1950)
The Last Actor-Managers (1950)
Essays of Oscar Wilde (1950) editor
Dizzy; the life and personality of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (1951)
The Man Whistler (1952)- (James McNeill Whistler)
Walter Scott: His Life and Personality (1954)
Beerbohm Tree: His Life & Laughter (1956)
Gilbert: His Life and Strife (1957)- (W S Gilbert)
Johnson and Boswell: the Story of Their Lives (1958)
Merry Monarch, the Life and Likeness of Charles II (1960)
The Pilgrim Daughters (1961) Marrying Americans (US)
Lives of the Wits (1962)
Henry of Navarre (1963)
Hesketh Pearson, By Himself (1965) autobiography
Extraordinary People (1965) biographical essays
Charles II: His Life and Likeness
About Kingsmill (Co-author with Malcolm Muggeridge - regarding Hugh Kingsmill) ²

Notes

^ Richard Ingrams, God's Apology,1977 chapter 3
^ Many of the biographical works obtained from a copy of Charles II published by Heinemann in the UK in 1960

References

Ingrams, Richard (1977) God's Apology: A Chronicle of Three Friends
Hunter, Ian (1987) Nothing to Repent : The Life of Hesketh Pearson

The Whispering Gallery: Hesketh Pearson's Literary Hoax: Hesketh Pearson's The Whispering Gallery caused literary controversy in 1926, resulting in a court case, when it was revealed as a hoax.
Hesketh Pearson Quotes: A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely” Hesketh Pearson A man”s character never changes radically from youth to … Continue reading →
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Hesketh Pearson: True stories?: The big question raised by Hesketh Pearson's Iron Rations stories, first published in 1928, is: What basis do they have in fact? To find out, I took a look at his autobiography, Hesketh Pearson By Himself (1965) to see what he said ...
Hardformat » New Eno, luxury edition, etc.: Comment by Sean — August 23, 2010 @ 7:32 pm. I was just wondering on that same little question… Comment by Ricardo — August 24, 2010 @ 1:44 am. You mean there's music too? ;). Comment by Hesketh Pearson — August 24, 2010 @ 9:07 am ...
Hesketh Pearson: "Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely."
Fun And Humour Groups | STUPID ARI ARI: 'When people are old enough to know better, they're old enough to do worse' – Hesketh Pearson. 'Looking fifty is great – if you're sixty' – Joan Rivers. Celebrate your sixties with this collection of humorous quips and quotes from ...
Recently Cited: And I think I'm quoting it accurately...but if not, remember the words of Hesketh Pearson: “Misquotation is ... the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely-read man never quotes accurately for the rather obvious reason that he has ...
Hesketh Pearson~ Misquotations…: Hesketh Pearson~ Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Clergymen And Fruit: Ever since the Serpent induced Eve to eat of a particular apple and Eve tempted Adam to do the same, the livelihood of the clergy has depended upon a proper appreciation of fruit.” Hesketh Pearson, in his potted biography of the ...
Edward Hesketh Gibbons Pearson 1887 – 1964: Hesketh Pearson was a patient of homeopath Raphael Roche, and he wrote about George Bernard Shaw's treatment by Raphael Roche of his hydrocoele (in George Bernard Shaw: his life and his personality). Hesketh Pearson was a friend of ...
Famous Motivational and Inspirational Quotes: Misquoting Quotes ...: “Misquotation is ... the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely-read man never quotes accurately for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely.” Hesketh Pearson (1887 – 1964) English biographer and writer ...
Hesketh Pearson: Edward Hesketh Gibbons Pearson (February 20, 1887 - April 9, 1964) was an English actor, theatre director and writer. He is known mainly for his popular biographies; they made him the leading British biographer of his time, ...
Hesketh Pearson died today – 44 years ago: Friend of Mankind: a Biography” (1937)) Edward Hesketh Gibbons Pearson was born on February 20, 1887 in Hawford, Worcestershire, England. He said, “A man's character never changes radically from youth to old age. ...
El Sherlock Holmes no canónico de Conan Doyle « 221B: Un relato completo de Sherlock Holmes, también encontrado por su biógrafo Hesketh Pearson rebuscando entre sus documentos. No fue publicado originalmente por los herederos, y cuando al fin apareció fue adjudicado a Arthur Whitaker, ...
Project MUSE - Biography - Volume 11, Number 4, Fall 1988: pp. 348-349. PDF Version (134k) | Summary. James Pattie's West: The Dream and the Reality (review). Iris H. W. Engstrand. pp. 349-350. PDF Version (135k) | Summary. Nothing to Repent: The Life of Hesketh Pearson (review) ...
Hesketh Pearson quote: Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted.
Oscar Wilde: His Life and Wit by Hesketh Pearson: Harper & Brothers (1946), Hardcover.
The Life of Oscar Wilde, by Hesketh Pearson: The Life of Oscar Wilde By Hesketh Pearson Publisher's Summary This is the remarkable and tragic story of Oscar Wilde, legendary wit and conversationalist, author of perhaps the most perfect comedy in the English language, yet seemingly ...
Hesketh Pearson: Hesketh Pearson.
QUOTES ABOUT EDUCATION: Hesketh Pearson (1887-1964) British biographer. The vanity of teaching doth oft tempt a man to forget that he is a blockhead. George Saville, Marquis of Hallifax (1633-1695) English statesman and essayist. ...
Rex Stout: You only have as many... Bravo's Matchmaker Will Try to Convince New York's Millionaires to Stop Shopping for Wives at Scores [Relocations] Patti Stanger of Millionaire Matchmaker fame is ditching LA... Hesketh Pearson “Misquotation is, ...
Foxtrot Echo Lima Tango: Copies of Foxtrot Echo Lima Tango ...: And, as Christian says, to everyone else who has sent messages, blogged about it etc - it's been a bit overwhelming... 22 June 2010 10:52. Anders said... Thank you for this wonderful book. 23 June 2010 01:25. hesketh pearson said. ...
Facebook's support for 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day' shows that ...: [Hesketh Pearson's biography of George Bernard Shaw]. If the Muslim world continues to be divided and ruled by these western backed dictatorships the attacks against our Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم and the believers will only continue. ...
Hesketh Pearson, Common Misquotations (1934), Introduction: Hesketh Pearson, Common Misquotations (1934), Introduction.
Hardformat » Akira Rabelais – Caduceus: It's high time Bigg and Vaughan Oliver were knighted for their services to the music industry these past 30 years or so. A beautiful sleeve for a maverick album. Comment by Hesketh Pearson — June 21, 2010 @ 12:27 pm ...
Richard Scrimger Recommends...: Hesketh Pearson, working from hundred-year-old data, does a fine job of bringing Sydney Smith to life in The Smith Of Smiths. You get a vivid picture of the man, and you really like what you see. Smith is near the top of the invite list ...
Quotations on Quotes: The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit. 9. Hesketh Pearson. Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted. 10. Fred Allen. Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted. ...
>Hesketh Pearson<: Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely.
Random Bits Of New Forest Scenery, & My Delightfully Strange Dress ...: I also found a delightful little yellow volume (complete with the requisite green carnation on the front), entitled "THE LIFE OF OSCAR WILDE", and written by someone called Hesketh Pearson, who seems to have known various exciting ...
The Game Laws. This is a blast of oratory from the...: This is a blast of oratory from the usually comic Sydney Smith, found in Hesketh Pearson's The Smith of Smiths. Before reading, you will need to know that the game laws reserved to certain landlords the exclusive right to hunt certain ...
Morris and Wilde: The Final Meeting?: A later item blames Hesketh Pearson's biography of Shaw for 'the anecdote that WM, when he was slowly dying, enjoyed a visit from Wilde more than anyone else' (p.245); and Aho's final mention of the topic a few pages later ups the ante ...
Quote du Jour: "Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely." Hesketh Pearson.
The Ball and the Cross: When Hesketh Pearson sat down to write a book about the most witty people in history (including the likes of Swift, Wilde, Shaw, and Beerbohm), he made the decision that Chesterton should go last in the book. Unpredictable turns as 2 ...
The Ball and the Cross (Penny Books): When Hesketh Pearson sat down to write a book about the most witty people in history (including the likes of Swift, Wilde, Shaw, and Beerbohm), he made the decision that Chesterton should go last in the book. ...
Gretchen Rubin: 19 Tips For Cheering Yourself Up -- From 200 Years Ago: While reading a biography of English writer Sydney Smith, Hesketh Pearson's The Smith of Smiths, I stumbled across a letter. In 1820, Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up. ...
Life of Shakespeare, A: In this classic biography, Hesketh Pearson puts his skills as an actor and biographer to lively use, looking at the man as much through his work - the great plays and poems - as through the extant facts. Having heard this affectionate ...
Self-reflection or narcissism? Either way… (public version): I quote references, sometimes incorrectly but according to Hesketh Pearson, “Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read ...
Quotations(Related Subjects: Books, Writing, Poetry): Hesketh Pearson, Common Misquotations (1934), Introduction Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted. Hesketh Pearson Life itself is a quotation. Jorge Luis Borges (1899 - 1986) A fine quotation is a diamond on the ...
bright stupid confetti: only hatred strengthens life: I remember when I read a biography of Oscar Wilde by Hesketh Pearson. Then there was a long discussion going on about predestination and free will. And he asked Wilde what he made of free will. Then he answered in a story. ...
Barbarians and Mandarins: Thirteen Centuries of Western Travellers ...: Bernard Shaw by Hesketh Pearson Back Matter The Art and Culture of Bali by Urs Ramseyer Back Matter High Tartary (Kodansha Globe) by Owen Lattimore Back Matter Annals and Memoirs of the Court of Peking by ET Backhouse Back Matter ...
Hesketh Pearson, Common Misquotations (1934), Introduction: " Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely. " Hesketh Pearson, Common Misquotations (1934), Introduction.
1. Philip G. Hamerton: 9. Hesketh Pearson. Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted. 10. Fred Allen. Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted. FAMOUS QUOTES. 1. Mark Twain ...
Christopher Hitchens interview: CH: No, I think they were, I mean, for me, there's a cynical remark made by an Englishman, I think he was Hesketh Pearson, actually, who was a friend of GK Chesterton's, who said a friend is God's apology for relations. ...
Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns: Hesketh Pearson, in his wonderful book, Walter Scott, His Life and Personality, (published in 1954 and a book on Scott that I highly recommend to one and all) tells the story of an old school chum and business partner of Scott's, ...
Misquotations are the only quotations th: Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted.Hesketh Pearson.
Sir Thomas Beecham: Hesketh Pearson “Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the... GK Chesterton “There is a great deal of difference between an eager... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Fran Lebowitz: View full... Hesketh Pearson “Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the... William Feather “Setting a good example for children takes all the fun... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Doing Nothing: Hesketh Pearson, Johnson and Boswell ... which goes a long way to explain why I sit here tonight alone, without employment, or any invitation to visit or dine or preside or participate or opine or contribute, or merely to belong, ...
Whispering gallery : being leaves from a diplomat's diary ...: Whispering gallery : being leaves from a diplomat's diary / [Hesketh Pearson]. ; Pearson, Hesketh, 1887-1964. (YRL Special Collections Stacks D106 .P31w 1926b)
Jay Leno: Johnny Weir appeared on The Tonight... 'Curb' Star Rips Jay Leno: He's Got No Character Filed under: TV, Celebrity Feuds, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien “Curb... Hesketh Pearson “Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the. ...
Dance Legends Revealed #1: …while the best source on this particular topic, one of Shaw's biographers, Hesketh Pearson (who allowed Shaw to re-write sections of his biography on Shaw where Shaw found it inaccurate), says that it happened, but through postal ...
The Happiness Project: Nineteen Tips for Cheering Yourself Up ...: I read it in a biography of the English writer Sydney Smith, in Hesketh Pearson's The Smith of Smiths. In 1820, Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up. ...
Gilbert and George: In the September 1923 issue of The Adelphi, the biographer Hesketh Pearson published what appeared to be a verbatim report of a private quarrel between Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw. (Shaw: "Have you any adequate excuse for not ...
The Political Philosophy of Oscar Wilde by Wendy McElroy: “In view of the sensation which he had created,” the biographer Hesketh Pearson observed, “he should have been told to leave the country.” Why did the matter continue? Sir Frank Lockwood, then Soliciter General, is reported as saying ...
Shakespeare biographies: the good, the Bard and the ugly | Michael ...: As for lives, Hesketh Pearson's A Life of Sh. is both instructive and enjoyable. Find it if you can. Recommend (0); Report abuse. | Link · blindtonydinton. 5 April 2010 3:05PM. 1599 by James Shapiro is a wondrous book indeed. ...
The Perfect Wagnerite: Hesketh Pearson on George Bernard Shaw (above), who was born on July 26, 1856. GBS trivia -he is the only person to have been awarded both the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938). These were for his contributions to ...
The Essential Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (selections): It includes the 2 CD biography by Hesketh Pearson, The Speckled Band, an excerpt from The Lost World and his defence of the Cottingley Fairies. Find out more about The Essential Sir Arthur Conan Doyle below. ...
Writers born this day: Pearson, Crouse - The Post-Standard ...: APAnsel Adams poses in front of his photograph of one the views of Yosemite National Park, titled "Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, 1927," in his home in Carmel Highlands, Calif., on Dec. 2, 1980. English biographer Hesketh Pearson ...
Pi(e) No. 4: I am convinced that digestion is the great secret of life and that character, talents, virtues, and qualities are powerfully affected by beef, mutton, pie-crust and rich soups. Sydney Smith, in The Smith of Smiths by Hesketh Pearson ...
Nineteen tips for cheering yourself up -- from two hundred years ago.: While reading a biography of English writer Sydney Smith, Hesketh Pearson's The Smith of Smiths, I stumbled across this letter. In 1820, Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering ...
The Happiness Project: Tips for cheering yourself up--from 1820.: I discovered this list by Sydney Smith in a well-known biography of Smith, written by Hesketh Pearson, "The Smith of Smiths" (1934), page 149. I believe this source is quite reliable. Perhaps that will help allay your suspicions. ...
A Million Ways To Get Involved With Million Trees!: ... you out at Rockaway Beach to enjoy and learn about an endangered species in the most unlikely of places. Written by Amber Rauch. QUOTATION FOR THE DAY. "Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted." Hesketh Pearson.
AM Announcements - April 06: Hesketh Pearson, Common Misquotations (1934), Introduction An epigram often flashes light into regions where reason shines but dimly. Edwin P. Whipple I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. ...
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Biography from Answers.com: Two useful shorter biographies are Hesketh Pearson, Conan Doyle: His Life and Art (1943), and Michael and Mollie Hardwick, The Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes (1964). A. E. Murch, The Development of the Detective Novel (1958; rev. ed. ...
Book Quote: 25 May 2009: Hesketh Pearson I really liked this quote because I often find myself paraphrasing or rephrasing the quotes of others. I always thought that it was a side effect of being a careless reader, but not so according to Pearson. ...
Quotes / Mis-quotes: Well, we couldn'™t agree more with Hesketh Pearson today. Yes, this post is about one such misquote. /" Anurag Dod, chief executive officer of the company, said "Currently the engine serves around one crore users a month and is ...
The Wondering Minstrels: A Ballad of John Nicholson -- Sir Henry ...: You are probably aware of the biography entitled "The Hero of Delhi", by Hesketh Pearson. The many books there quoted as Authorities should be useful for those now learning about Afghanistan. There is one error which could easily be ...
Character quotes and sayings: Hesketh Pearson. A character is a completely fashioned will. - Novalis. People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is a confession of character. - Ralph Waldo Emerson. I admire men of character, and I judge character not by ...
Quotation Saturday: Education: -Hesketh Pearson. 24. Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run. –Mark Twain. 25. A fool's brain digests philosophy into foly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. ...
Film review: Up (no spoilers): They can only fit themselves for other people's clubs by allowing themselves to be corrupted by kindly feelings foreign to the purpose of art." - George Bernard Shaw, quoted in Bernard Shaw: His Life and Personality by Hesketh Pearson ...
Turning A Pint of Tea Leaves into Pure Gold | The Quackometer: In a biography of Shaw by Hesketh Pearson, it is reported that,. Bernard Shaw called upon Sir Almroth Wright – a noted allopathic physician – to look into homeopathy. Wright expressed complete incredulity. Shaw remonstrated with him. ...
This Day in History for 20th February: 1887 - Hesketh Pearson, England, biographer/playwright (Writ for Libel) 1888 - Georges Bernanos, France, novelist (Diary of a Country Priest) 1888 - Marie Rambert, Warsaw, English ballet producer/director/teacher ...
ill-advised: BOOK: Oscar Wilde, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (cont.): One well-known change between the 1890 and 1891 editions (I remember it mentioned e.g. in Hesketh Pearson's biography of Wilde) is that the frame-maker whom Dorian asks for help in moving the portrait is named Ashton in the 1890 edition ...
10/16 Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde: Years later, the actor Allen Aynesworth (playing 'Algy' opposite George Alexander's 'Jack') told Wilde's biographer Hesketh Pearson that "In my fifty-three years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph than the first night of 'The ...
Political Misquotations: Healey, Callaghan, Voltaire and ...: Hesketh Pearson. With the Lib Dems announcing new tax plans this week, no doubt the right will soon lament (regardless of the detail) that we're returning to the days of taxing the rich till the pips squeak. Some will probably think ...
Opsimathy: Hesketh Pearson, The Smith of Smiths, being The Life, Wit and Humour of Sydney Smith (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1934), p. 319: In June [1844] he was laid up with the gout and one of his callers, Thomas Moore, was amused and surprised ...
Undertone: ... called a lengthy bridge and Pearson a short viaduct, from which they surveyed… a mean church , with an air of witnessing to Christ in a muffled undertone. Talking of Dick Whittington [1947] by Hesketh Pearson and Hugh Kingsmill.
Thomas Paine: Biography from Answers.com: The semifictionalized Citizen Tom Paine (1943) by Howard Fast is one-sided and deals largely with the years 1774 to 1787. Frederick J. Gould, Thomas Paine (1925), is brief and reasonably well balanced. Hesketh Pearson, Tom Paine: Friend ...
Sydney and Ogden: I'm the proud possessor of a tattered old Penguine Paperback edition The Smith of Smiths a biography by Hesketh Pearson who was a minor celebrity in his own right—and so, a double artifact. Necessarily, I want to be more careful with ...
Misquotation the privilege of the learned. A widely read man never ...: Misquotation the privilege of the learned. A widely read man never quotes accurately reason is that he has read too widely.- Hesketh Pearson.
"Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted.": “Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted.” - Hesketh Pearson.
Dennys Funny Quotes: Funny Quotes About Quotations: Hesketh Pearson * Most collectors collect tangibles. As a quotation collector, I collect wisdom, life, invisible beauty, souls alive in ink. - T. Guillemets * One has to secrete a jelly in which to slip quotations down people's throats ...
“monuments of British brutality”: Quoted by Hesketh Pearson in TOM PAINE: FRIEND OF MANKIND (Hamish Hamilton; London, 1937), pp. 81-82. (Thanks to 'Forty-eighter' for this post) ### “Paine's refusal to allow himself to be absorbed and incorporated into the structures of ...
Quote(s) of the Day: Burt Bacarach (musician and songwriter) "Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely-read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely." -- Hesketh Pearson (actor ...
THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS: And yet, as his biographer Hesketh Pearson suggested, “he was being quite serious in his own way, for he believed that the spirit of man was more significant than the animal in man.” Perhaps that's the best way of responding to the ...
Quote of the Day: //NOISE: Dog Barking. Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely. - Hesketh Pearson. Technorati Tags: quotes.
Second Guessing: #17 "Don't be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice". - Hesketh Pearson. (via the happiness project - Gretchen Rubin). Also, in the sidebar, my Mighty Life List inspired by Maggie Mason and her own ...
Quote of the day--Oscar Wilde: From Hesketh Pearson, Oscar Wilde, His Life and Wit (1946) via The Great Thoughts (link is to the 2nd Edition, mine is the 1st Edition--1985) compiled by George Seldes. [Although the list is essentially without limit my favorite ...
A Thumb-Law of Controversy: I do not predict much controversy when I say that this is more easily said than done. [1] Sydney Smith, quoted by Hesketh Pearson, The Smith of Smiths, Being the Life, Wit and Humour of Sydney Smith. The Right Book Club, London. ...
Never Alone 7: I had three books by William Safire, two by (or on) HL Mencken, one on van Gogh, Hesketh Pearson's biography of Sir Walter Scott, Adrian House's biography of Saint Francis, Pindar's Odes, and Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate. ...
The Smith of Smiths: ... part of their governors to diminish, and so ultimately to destroy, that freedom." Sydney Smith, quoted in The Smith of Smiths, being the Life, Wit and Humour of Sydney Smith, by Hesketh Pearson, The Right Book Club, London (nd) p. 274.
Quotations: I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation. ---George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950) Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted. --Hesketh Pearson Collected from The Quotations Page.
I Contain Multitudes: Hesketh Pearson. I always like to think that I should be spending more time ingesting information, more time expressing interpretation on that information; and less time gauging my ultimate accuracy. But don't tell my legal writing ...
Round Two at the Friends of the Library Sale: JOHNSON AND BOSWELL by Hesketh Pearson THE MCDEAD by Ken Bruen THE DEATH YOU DESERVE by David Bowker PLAYING SHAKESPEARE by John Barton CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson LAW & ORDER by Courier & Green THE ACCIDENTAL HUNTER by Nelson ...
"Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted ...: Hesketh Pearson *** A short followup to the last post on Singapore and North Korea: More scope for S'pore-North Korean economic cooperation "Singapore has also agreed to provide IT training to North Korea... Mr Yeo also brought a letter ...
Quotes of the Day: Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely. - Hesketh Pearson . . .
Quote for Nov 18: Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely. — Hesketh Pearson …in other words…
Quotations on Quotations: Hesketh Pearson remarked, “Misquotations are the only quotations not misquoted.” Cary Grant was thankful for them, saying, “I improve upon misquotation.” Are you good at remembering great quotations? I'm afraid I'm not, and neither was ...
Geek Quote of the Day: Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that he has read too widely. - Hesketh Pearson. When a thing has been said and well, ...