More Peers: Verses

Hilaire Belloc's "More Peers" is a wickedly funny collection of verses that takes aim at the British aristocracy with surgical precision and enormous charm. Here you will meet Lord Roehampton, who loses his voice at a political rally; Lord Chase, ensnared in a libel case he cannot escape; Lord Epsom, whose horse misbehaves catastrophically; and Lord Lucky, who attains wealth through an accidental shooting. Each poem is a compact engine of comic misadventure, delivered with a mock-serious tone that makes the absurdity land even harder. Written in 1911, these verses prove that the follies of the privileged are eternally renewable. Belloc's genius lies in treating these ridiculous lords with such grave formality, as if their mishaps were matters of genuine consequence. For readers who enjoy sharp wit, gentle mockery of power, and verse that clicks like a well-made latch, "More Peers" offers nineteen compact gems of satirical delight.