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The Writings of Robert Benchley

Benchley, Robert. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, or David Copperfield. Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1928.

    40 Benchley essays previously published in The Bookman, The Detroit Athletic Club News, The Forum, Life, The New Yorker, and The Yale Review.

    233 pages; drawings by Gluyas Williams. (DT)

_________________. After 1903 - What? Harper and Brothers, 1938

    105 Benchley essays, presumably previously published in periodicals.
    271 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (PF)

_________________. Benchley--Or Else. Harper and Brothers, 1947.

    Posthumous collection of 71 Benchley essays, including six previously published in The New Yorker.

    273 pages; drawings by Gluyas Williams. (DT)

_________________. Benchley Beside Himself. Harper and Brothers, 1943.

    47 previously published Benchley essays.

    304 pages; drawings by Gluyas Williams; 16 full-page black and white still photos from Benchley's motion picture "shorts". (DT)

_________________. Chips off the Old Benchley. Harper and Brothers, 1949.

    Posthumous collection of 77 Benchley essays selected by Mrs. Robert (Gertrude) Benchley. According the dust-jacket notes: "The material in this volume appeared in various magazines and newspapers beginning as far back as 1915, but only a half dozen of the seventy-seven sketches have ever before been published in book form."

    360 pages; drawings by Gluyas Williams; Introduction by Frank Sullivan. (DT)

_________________. The Early Worm. Henry Holt and Company, 1927.

    47 Benchley essays previously published in Life, The Detroit Athletic Club News, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, College Humor, and The Bell Syndicate.

    263 pages; illustrations by Gluyas Williams. (DT)

_________________. From Bed to Worse, or Comforting Thoughts about the Bison. Harper and Brothers, 1934.

    60 Benchley essays, presumably previously published in periodicals.

    286 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams (no credit). (DT)

_________________. Inside Benchley. Harper and Brothers, 1942.

    50 Benchley essays (previously published), plus:
    --Glossary of Knit, Native and Technical Terms;
    --Abbreviations (list of books of the Bible);
    --Bibliography (of books on psychology); and
    --Index (Manhattan telephone directory).

    Dust-jacket tribute from Stephen Leacock: "None excell Robert Benchley in the ingenious technique of verbal humor. As a writer of nonsense for nonsense sake, he is unsurpassed."

    316 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (DT)

_________________. Love Conquers All.. Henry Holt and Company, 1922

    63 Benchley essays, previously published in Life, The New York World, The New York Tribune, The Detroit Athletic Club News, and The Consolidated Press Association.
    310 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (PF)

_________________. My Ten Years in a Quandary, and How They Grew. Harper and Brothers, 1936.

    105 Benchley essays, presumably previously published in periodicals.

    361 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams (credit on dust-jacket). (DT)

_________________. No Poems, Or Around the World Backwards and Sideways. Harper and Brothers, 1932.

    45 Benchley essays, presumably previously published in periodicals.

    330 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (DT)

_________________. Of All Things. Henry Holt & Co., 1921.

    22 Benchley essays plus three "tabloid editions," previously published in Vanity Fair, The New York Tribune Sunday Magazine, Collier's Weekly, Life, and Motor Print. With dedication to Henry Bessemer (inventor of the Bessemer steel converter) and preface (The Declaration of Independence).

    234 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (DT)

_________________. Pluck and Luck.. Henry Holt and Company, 1925

    50 Benchley essays, previously published in Life, The Detroit Athletic Club News, The Bookman, College Humor, and the Theatre Guild Program.

    295 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (PF)

_________________. "Reel" Benchley, the. A. A. Wyn, Inc., 1950.

    Still photos and scripts from Benchley's Hollywood short subjects:
    • How to Sleep;
    • The Romance of Digestion;
    • How to Train a Dog;
    • No News Is Good News;
    • How To Be a Detective; and
    • The Courtship of the Newt.

    96 pages; forward by Howard Dietz. (DT)

_________________. The Treasurer's Report & Other Aspects of Community Singing.. Harper and Brothers, 1930

    36 Benchley essays, previously published in The New Yorker, the Chicago Tribune, the D.A.C. News, The Bookman, Life, the Seven Seas, and Liberty.

    345 pages; illustrated by Gluyas Williams. (PF)

Getchell, Charles (ed.). Benchley at the Theatre: Dramatic Criticism, 1920-1940 by Robert Benchley. Ipswich Press, 1985.

    84 Selections from Benchley's drama criticism, divided equally between his work at Life (1920-1929) and The New Yorker (1929-1940). Introductory essay by Charles Getchell.

    220 pages (with index). (DT)

Reviewers: DT=David Trumbull, PF=Paul Feldman.

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