A collection of Beerbohm's essays from the 1890s written while he was still a student at Oxford and which had originally been printed in The Yellow Book, The Savoy, The Pageant, The Chap Book, and other notable periodicals, the book was published in London by John Lane at The Bodley Head in 1896, and launched Beerbohm's career as an essayist.
The book contains Beerbohm's notorious essay A Defence of Cosmetics, which had appeared in the first number of The Yellow Book in April 1894, revised and renamed The Pervasion of Rouge.
"Replete with mock-scholarly footnotes and biographical information, The Works epitomizes Beerbohm's penchant for deflating pretentiousness with satiric imitation," wrote Ann Adams Cleary in the Dictionary of Literary Biography.
"Anything large - ideas, ideals, literary works, London crowds - caused him dismay.
[2] A limited edition of 780 copies, signed and numbered by the author, was issued in 1922, with 750 being offered for sale, while the remaining 30 were for presentation.