Hilaire Belloc was born in France and educated at Newman's Oratory School and at Balliol College, Oxford. From 1906 to 1910 he was Liberal MP for Salford and literary editor of the Morning Post. As well as writing books of verse and novels, he also wrote on religious, social and political topics.
Typically deadpan, previously unpublished scenes of Victorian ladies, gents, and children decorate seven of Belloc's savage little ditties, including Henry King, Who Chewed Bits Of String, And Was Early Cut Off In Dreadful Agonies, Jim, Who Ran Away From His Nurse, And Was Eaten By A Lion, and the ever-popular Matilda, Who Told Lies, And Was Burned To Death. Stretching the stories across several pages of illustration (as many as 12 in some cases) allows the full effect of Gorey's macabre wit to sink in and the timing for a reappearance of Belloc's irreverent warnings couldn't be more perfect. Gorey gets credit for re-discovering these early 20th-century verses, but they have appeared previously in several collections or single editions. Still, his gothic sensibility made him the perfect illustrator for them, and Lemony Snicket fans will undoubtedly swoon with delight. (Poetry. 9-11) (Kirkus Reviews)