Forty Years of 'Spy'

At the Beefsteak Club, a joke between George Grossmith and Corney Grain becomes material for Leslie Ward's drawing. He sketches the pair from memory, then watches fellow members recognise the scene. This illustrated memoir brings that habit of looking closely into an account of family life, school days at Eton and an artist's work. Chapters on caricature and portraiture sit beside recollections of Vanity Fair, theatres, clubs and royal portrait sittings.

Ward recalls the club through mishaps and friendly gestures: a falling stag's head tears a regular member's chair, while friends give Ward silver before his marriage. During his speech of thanks, a Shakespeare quotation falters and another member helps by reading the passage. Such episodes give the social scenes a personal scale alongside the many named artists and public figures in the contents. Readers interested in British art can follow both his methods of making portraits and the conversations that supplied subjects for sketches.