The complete online text of A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear.

The English writer and artist Edward Lear (1812-1888) achieved fame as a lithographer, landscape artist, and author and illustrator of numerous travel books. He is now remembered, however, for his five volumes of nonsense poetry and prose. Edward Lear wa...

In a small cemetery in San Remo, Italy, Edward Lear's gravestone reads simply: "LANDSCAPE PAINTER IN MANY LANDS;" and, indeed, this description epitomizes Lear's view of himself. Others remember him principally for his nonsense poetry, occasionally for h...

Edward Lear's illustrated nonsense verse, narratives, alphabets, and botanies are early and central examples of a type of literature for children that endures because it conveys humorous, vigorous, and accessible images of a skewed reality. Known as the...