In this biography Lee Siegel uncovers the roots of the performer’s outrageous intelligence, hilarious insolence towards authority and convention, and ingenious wordplay. Uncritical biographies have been published before, but here, Siegel makes a contribution to the field of Groucho studies by telling the story of his life in terms of his work and vice versa. Without jargon or self-seriousness, the writer links Aristophanes to Kafka to Becket to Groucho to Woody Allen to Amy Schumer in a brilliant analysis.