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I first came across this wonderful version of the Faust myth forty years ago and have reread it several times since, but when I looked it up on Wikipedia the other day I discovered some interesting things I hadn't known. Not only did Beerbohm really have a painter friend called Rotherstein, Rotherstein really created a pastel portrait of the hapless Soames, the one that "existed so much more than its subject".



Even more astonishingly, Soames did indeed turn up in the Reading Room of the British Museum in 1997. Some incurable sceptics will no doubt claim this was a stunt organised by an American magician called Teller who is known to admire Beerbohm's story, but nothing will convince these people, not even first-hand eyewitness reports. It is as plain as day that Beerbohm is just telling us the truth: Soames, who had always been convinced that he would sooner or later be recognised as the genius he knew himself to be, inadvisedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for five hours in the future and was cruelly disappointed. I cannot help thinking that a few self-published authors here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ might learn something from this incident.

Together with our Canberra friend Kirsten, another fan, I have put together a LARA version of Enoch Soames which you can find ; Kirsten has supplied the voice, and I have added French glosses to the words. Our little contribution towards Beerbohm's noble project of convincing the world that Soames really did exist.
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[Update, Nov 16 2020]

Soames fans who don't already know about it (I didn't) should look at Enoch Soames: The Critical Heritage. Among other tantalizing details,