Bentley's frequent finanical irresponsibility forced him to flee the country occasionally in order to escape creditors. Though primarily an illustrator, he tried his hand at publishing poems, plays, and satires. DNB explains that "his attacks on John Wilkes and the duke of Newcastle, enemies of the earl of Bute, flattered George III but reaped for Bentley only a small pension from the king, irregularly paid." Bentley's works did not receive much attention or acclaim, and he died poor.