In The Natural History of Edward Lear, Robert McCracken Peck has composed an engaging history of the remarkable 19th century artist, Edward Lear. The 20th of 21 children born to residents of Bowman's Lodge, north of London, Edward and family faced irreversible poverty. Although his future looked bleak, his older sister's support and encouragement allowed him to apply single-minded focus to his art career. While still in his teens, he gained access to the private and public natural history collections of the day, sharpening his drawing skills by rendering directly the birds and mammals there. His work was soon recognized by John Gould, the most prolific ornithological author of the time, and opportunities to illustrate the writings of naturalists describing flora and fauna opened up quickly.
Peck provides a chronology of Lear's output as he moved from early success in publishing bird paintings to his developing skills in lithography,...