Cover of The Happy Hypocrite

The Happy Hypocrite

by Max Beerbohm

First published
1927
Reading level
Easy
Price
Free

About the book

"The Happy Hypocrite: A Fairy Tale for Tired Men" by Sir Max Beerbohm is a short story first published in 1896. A lighter, more humorous response to Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray," it follows Lord George Hell, a worldly dandy who falls desperately in love with an innocent dancer. When she refuses to marry anyone without a saint's face, he makes a bold decision involving deception and disguise. What follows is an unexpected journey of transformation that questions whether true love can change a person from the inside out.

  • England
  • Fantasy fiction
  • Love stories
  • Masks

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #36497. The Happy Hypocrite on Wikipedia.

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