And Even Now

"And Even Now" by Sir Max Beerbohm is a collection of essays written during the early 20th century. The essays reflect Beerbohm's observations and musings on various topics, encapsulating the wit and wisdom of his experiences and literary engagements over a decade. The opening portion of the book introduces a reflective essay titled "A Relic," where the narrator discovers an old portmanteau that triggers memories and evokes a sense of nostalgia. He recounts the contents of the trunk, particularly a fragment of a fan belonging to a woman named Angélique, which leads him to reminisce about a dramatic encounter he witnessed on a terrace in Normandy. The narrative explores themes of memory, longing, and the creative impulse, as the narrator contemplates the woman’s emotional turmoil and how it inspires him to pursue writing, despite his fears of inadequacy. This initial essay sets the tone for the collection, revealing Beerbohm’s keen insights into human nature and the subtleties of everyday life. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic for the Saturday Review from 1898 until 1910, when he relocated to Rapallo, Italy. In his later years he was popular for his occasional radio broadcasts. Among his best-known works is his only novel, Zuleika Dobson, published in 1911. His caricatures, drawn usually in pen or pencil with muted watercolour tinting, are in many public collections.