The Happy Hypocrite

Max Beerbohm's The Happy Hypocrite is a witty moral fairy tale for adults, spinning scandal, satire, and romance around the notorious Lord George Hell. Publicly wicked, extravagantly vain, and delightfully unscrupulous, he moves through London's fashionable world as a cheat, gambler, and social menace, inspiring fear as much as fascination. Yet Beerbohm's irony keeps judgment unstable, hinting that vice may conceal the seed of redemption. Everything changes when George encounters Jenny Mere, an actress whose innocence and grace awaken in him an overwhelming love. Rejected because his face is not saintly enough, he turns to Mr. Aeneas, the theatrical mask-maker of Old Bond Street, and adopts a saint's mask in a world obsessed with disguise and performance. Pursued by the jealous La Gambogi, George follows Jenny into a dreamlike courtship, renounces his old life, and creates a humble home where secrecy and devotion coexist. When the mask is finally torn away, his true face proves as saintly as the disguise, and love, forgiveness, and transformation are triumphantly confirmed. The tale is both a sparkling satire on society and a tender fantasy of moral renewal. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.