Eden Warwick

author

Eden Warwick

d. 1873

Best remembered for the wonderfully odd Victorian classic Notes on Noses, this 19th-century writer mixed satire, curiosity, and literary playfulness in a way that still feels surprisingly fresh. Behind the pen name was George Jabet, a Birmingham solicitor whose most famous book gently mocked the era’s craze for reading character from physical features.

1 Audiobook

Notes on Noses

Notes on Noses

by Eden Warwick

About the author

Writing as Eden Warwick, George Jabet (1815–1873) was a Birmingham solicitor who also took an active part in the city’s literary and educational life. He published several books under his pen name, but he is most closely associated with Nasology: Or Hints Towards a Classification of Noses (1848), later reissued as Notes on Noses.

That book is now remembered as an elaborate parody of phrenology and other fashionable attempts to judge personality from outward appearance. Its mock-serious catalog of nose types was witty enough that some readers reportedly took it at face value, which only adds to its charm today.

Warwick also wrote The Poets' Pleasaunce (1847), showing a broader interest in literature beyond satire. Even though biographical details about him are fairly limited, his work survives because it captures a distinctly Victorian mix of humor, eccentricity, and confidence in grand theories.