The Natural Talent of Edward Lear

I’ve been a fan of Edward Lear, and Nonsense in general, for a long time. The inspired silliness, the inventive wordplay, the ruthless humor and satire all heavily influenced my first book for kids, Neversink: A Puffin Saga. So when I learned just a few years ago that Lear, as a teenager, had been a brilliant natural history artist, on a par with John J. Audubon, I felt like I had to know more. What I learned convinced me that Lear, long overshadowed by Lewis Carroll, was long overdue for a biography aimed at kids. More to come, but in the meantime, here’s a sample of Lear’s brilliant artistry.