The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

The first pages of this 1890 work contain an account of the efforts of various 'pirates' to publish a selection of the letters of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), and their ultimate frustration. In fact, the American journalist Sheridan Ford had been given informal permission by Whistler, who then changed his mind, decided to publish a book with his own design, and took legal action to suppress Ford's version. The 'prologue' is an extract from the review by Ruskin which led to the famous libel case in which Whistler was paid one farthing in damages, and the first part is a rollicking romp through that trial, with sidenotes designed to undermine the evidence of the various expert witnesses with quotes from their own writings. The book continues in the same vein, with selected correspondence between Whistler and the critics, edited to amuse as well as (perhaps) edify his readers.