A 1924 collection of essays by the celebrated Canadian humorist, popular in the first half of the twentieth century throughout the English speaking world. - Summary by david wales

A humorous tale about a poor Irish charwoman living in the slums of Dublin, and her innocent teenage daughter, Mary Makebelieve, whose first forays into courtship and romance, and their desire to escape from drudgery -- provide us with a charming picture of youth's enthusiasm and a mother's devotion, amidst Dublin's many parks and shops. The chapters are filled with James Stephens' witty Irish observations on life, love, ignorance, the frustrations of the poor and the wishful thinking that sustains them . . . . told as jauntily as only a few authors can equal.

Enter Pleasant Valley, the home of the interesting and entertaining creatures and adventures born of American author Arthur Scott Bailey. The Tale of Paddy Muskrat is one of many works penned by Bailey that are part of his Sleep-Time Tales set intended for young children. Come enjoy the turns of luck and whims of the laziest member of the valley. - Summary by Bill Turns Prooflisteners: KevinS and MaryinArkansas

Hailed as one of the funniest writers of the 20th century, P. G. Wodehouse cheerfully radiates humor that is both sophisticated and popular. In Bill the Conqueror, Wodehouse creates an array of entertaining characters who gallop around England and America in quest of love and money. Our far-from-perfect hero Bill is a dissipated American former football player and man of action, who tangles with odious relatives, bumbling gangsters, suave white-collar crooks, and even his exasperating but well-meaning friend Judson, as he seeks to become worthy of the woman of his dreams, whichever one she might be. As you might expect, the course of true love never did run smooth.

A book of poems and short stories. - Summary by Fritz

This collection of articles came from Mark Twain's travels and experiences abroad. While many had been previously published, there also were many that had never before seen the light of day...which one reviewer said had never been Twain's intent for them, having consigned them to obscurity. With introductory essays by Brander Matthews and Albert Bigelow Paine, the book paints a clear picture of the complexity and wide variety of Samuel L. Clemens' thinking, where it originated and how it developed.

The Bachelors' Club is a sanctuary for an elite group of London's unmarried men to gather. To qualify as a Bachelor, each had to undergo a strict background check to ensure that they were not only unmarried, but a zealot in the movement that held marriage to be an undue punishment...upon women. As our story goes, we learn many revealing things about these men's convictions and pasts, as well as insightful commentaries on life and society in 1890 that is markedly similar to today. Summary by Keith Salis

Carleton B. Case is well known for wit and humor, as the title of the book leads one to believe this book will follow suit. - Summary by April6090

This collection of eleven short stories is packed with Henry Wallace Phillips' offbeat humor. You will find a trolley car driver, bored with his route, who decides to drive around town instead. There are a couple of men unfamiliar with the basic properties of a canoe. And watch out for the curse of the chewing gum. Fun to read. Fun to record

From Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky to limericks written by Anonymous, some of the crankiest, most logical and lyrical people turn common sense upside-down. May they inspire the child inside of you to find your way through the most challenging situations with a new set of eyes! Josephine Dodge Daskam, aka Josephine Daskam Bacon, selected these nonsense verses with the permission of their authors Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, W.S. Gilbert, Guy Wetmore Carryl, Charles E. Carryl, Oliver Herford, Gelett Burgess, George du Maurier, and Rudyard Kipling.

Frank T. Bullen is best known for his books based on his adventures at sea. However, he had a life on shore as well. He first went to sea as a boy as a cabin boy. He there had many adventures as a hand on a whaling ship. He then came ashore and tried his hand at being a "Tradesman". This is that story and also tells how he became the well-known author he is now. It is a very interesting, enjoyable and entertaining depiction of the trials and tribulations he had in his life in 19th century London as a tradesman. - Summary by Wayne Cooke

The five-volume work chronicling the adventures of father Gargantua and son Pantagruel is a vehicle for Rabelais' satire of sixteenth-century European society. It is lively, outrageous, and, at times, bawdy. This the third of the five volumes--all are translated by Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteux

The epigram to this work from Christoher Marlowe applies to the plot of this story: "My men like satyrs grazing on the lawns / Shall with their goat-feet dance the antic hay." The plot follows Huxley and his cohorts in a search for meaning and hope and love in post WWI London.

Written as an autobiographical sketch of a Mr. M.A. Titmarsh, Our Street is a tongue-in-cheek look at English society and the characters who live in the street where he finds himself. It is the second of five "Christmas Books" written by Thackeray under the pseudonym of M.A. Titmarsh.

Old New York is a collection of four novellas by Edith Wharton, revolving around upper-class New York City society in the 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, and 1870s. - Summary from Wikipedia

“Do not count your chickens before they are hatched” is a classic saying that might well have been remembered by Ukridge. Ukridge is always on the verge of making a fortune and counting his thousands before they are made. But Dame Fortune is a fickle jade. She eludes him in his great scheme about the dog college, wherein he was to turn out a world supply of trained dogs, and likewise in his backing of Battling Billson, the tender-hearted pugilist. But hope and George Tupper keep Ukridge going. He is ever ready for the next assault. First published as short stories. - Summary by From the introduction

"Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" was an iconic magazine of wit and humor launched by W.H. Fawcett in 1919. Each 64-page issue was packed with jokes, quips, and humorous bits of writing. Each year it grew in popularity, and Fawcett’s success lead to the formation of the well-known Fawcett Publications, which issued Whiz Comics and introduced Captain Marvel. The magazine was immortalized in a line in the song “Trouble” from Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.” - Summary by Larry Wilson

A wealthy, love-sick bachelor, crooks, and card-sharps ensconced in an English castle make for a classic Wodehousian comedy of star-crossed lovers, imposters and stolen jewels. It all gets a bit thick, what? - Summary by Mark Nelson

Pinafore’s sublimely silly story is made even sillier by this 1908 story version of the 1878 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Gilbert, the author of the operetta’s lyrics, writes this version of the story with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. Most adults and children will find this version vastly amusing. - Summary by David Wales

A young and somewhat eccentric American named Sam Shotter is sent by his uncle, a wealthy businessman, to England to get him out of his hair. Sam's uncle sends him to work for Lord Tilbury's well known Mammoth Publishing Company, much against Lord Tilbury's better judgment. Sam accidentally comes to reside in Valley Fields, that peaceful suburb of milk and honey, where many complications of romantic, business, social and criminal natures ensue. This book also marks the first appearance of Chimp Twist, "a man so crooked he could hide behind a spiral staircase", and his associates and rivals in misdoing, Dolly and Soapy Molloy...

"Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" was an iconic magazine of American wit and humor launched by W.H. Fawcett in 1919. Each 64-page issue is packed with jokes, quips, and humorous bits of writing. Each year it grew in popularity, and Fawcett’s success lead to the formation of the well-known Fawcett Publications, which issued "Whiz Comics" and introduced Captain Marvel. The magazine was immortalized in a line in the song “Trouble” from Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.” - Summary by Larry Wilson

In this comic novel written by American author Anita Loos, we follow the adventures of the fictional character Lorelei Lee who is a young blonde flapper. This story takes place in the hedonistic Jazz Age and is written in the form of a diary from Lorelei's viewpoint as she shares stories of the men she entertains in New York City and Europe. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” was an instant bestseller and has been declared as “the great American novel” by Edith Wharton. - Summary by Jenn Broda

"Leave it to Jeeves" was Bertie's motto, be the question one of a colour of a tie, the style of a hat, the cut of a coat. Jeeves was always right. There was no one like him to placate rich uncles or indignant mammas. He said just the right thing at just the right moment. What did it matter that Jeeves was somewhat of a tyrant, and that without his approval Bertie could not grow so much as a moustache? Was he not always there to lean on in moments of stress? And moments such as these were frequent in the life of Bertie and his friends...

Agnes Repplier was a popular and highly regarded essayist of the late 19th and early 20th century, who was also well known on the lecture circuit. Her writings are witty, erudite, and engaging. The eight essays in this collection include an homage to her cat Aggripina and reflections on the beauty of words, as well as essays entitled "The Children's Poets," "The Praises of War," "Leisure," "Ennui," "Wit and Humor," and "Letters." - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

Harold Ashton was the War Correspondent of The Daily News during the First World War and reported extensively on the British army’s involvement in the conflict. Whether working alongside the British troops that were fighting on the frontline or in the trenches or accompanying the massive logistics operation behind the lines – be it the transporting of munitions and supplies or seeing at first hand the work of the Royal Army Medical Corps – he reported on the successes and failures, the tragedies and victories over the course of the war...

"Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" was an iconic magazine of American wit and humor launched by W.H. Fawcett in 1919. Each 64-page issue is packed with jokes, quips, and humorous bits of writing. Each year it grew in popularity, and Fawcett’s success lead to the formation of the well-known Fawcett Publications, which issued "Whiz Comics" and introduced Captain Marvel. The magazine was immortalized in a line in the song “Trouble” from Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.” - Summary by Larry Wilson

Also known for his "Brownies" books, Canadian humorist Palmer Cox give us a delightful collection of humorous verse and short prose vignettes. From the publisher's preface, "thrice happy is the man who, having seen, can tell the fun; and having told, can picture it for others’ eyes and so roll on the rollicking humor, for the brightening of a world already far too sad." - Summary by Larry Wilson

"Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" was an iconic magazine of American wit and humor launched by W.H. Fawcett in 1919. Each 64-page issue is packed with jokes, quips, and humorous bits of writing. Each year it grew in popularity, and Fawcett’s success lead to the formation of the well-known Fawcett Publications, which issued "Whiz Comics" and introduced Captain Marvel. The magazine was immortalized in a line in the song “Trouble” from Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.” - Summary by Larry Wilson

More humorous adventures by the world’s most misunderstood English boy. - Summary by david wales

The fun adventures of Georgie, Swatty, and Bony, as they encounter flooding rivers, emotional girls, burning buildings, rotten stumps, mean teachers, a haunted house, dark caves, murderers, and ice jams.

Ironic and Satirical: A successful Parisian notary, Alfred L’Ambert, is smitten with a fourteen-year-old ballet dancer. After a quarrel, his Turkish rival challenges him to a duel during which the notary gets his nose cut off. Thereupon, a surgeon is called for a grafting. The donor is a simple man from the Auvergne with whom the notary is forced to spend thirty days, his nose being literally glued to the arm of the man. But even after this term, his bad fortune doesn’t come to an end... - Summary by Didier Le Nez d’un notaire - The Notary's Nose in French La Nariz de un notario - The Notary's Nose in Spanish

"Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" was an iconic magazine of American wit and humor launched by W.H. Fawcett in 1919. Each 64-page issue is packed with jokes, quips, and humorous bits of writing. Each year it grew in popularity, and Fawcett’s success lead to the formation of the well-known Fawcett Publications, which issued "Whiz Comics" and introduced Captain Marvel. The magazine was immortalized in a line in the song “Trouble” from Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man.” - Summary by Larry Wilson

Dorothy Parker was a poet, writer and satirist of the foibles of the early 20th century , and a founding member of New York’s Algonquin Round Table, a group of prominent artistic and social critics, actors and wits. This is a short collection of humorously critical descriptions of various men on the periphery of her “inner circle,” which explain why they are men she is not married to. - Summary by Kirsten Wever

Pearl Leavitt is habitually fired from her New York City office jobs for being "too beautiful" and thereby causing all the men to fall in love with her. Fed up, she decides to take a job in the Hamptons as a governess for three over-indulged children. - Summary by Nancy Halper

Aldous Huxley is best known as a philosopher and novelist – notably as the author of Brave New World. He also wrote poetry, short stories and critical essays. Most of his work is somewhat dark and mildly sardonic, partly because he came of age just after World War I, when all of Europe was in a state of cultural, political and social confusion. His novel, Crome Yellow, is a prime example. Mortal Coils includes four short stories and a play, including one of the author’s most famous short works: "The Gioconda Smile." - Summary by Kirsten Wever

Inspired by "Lives of the Saints", fat, lazy, good-for-nothing Harvey Redding decides to give up the junk-collecting business, and become a Saint. Meanwhile, deeply in debt to his sister, he has left his son Lem with her until he is able to pay her back.

The world’s most confident, most chaos-creating eleven year old boy is at it again in these fourteen glorious and funny 1924 short stories. - Summary by David Wales

This droll and 'enflammatory' pamphelet doth be a grondebreaking worke of musing upon a great aflicktion of Man, upon the better nature of that aflicktion, and upon the vain and mischievous cheats who affeckt to cure it. The gauntlet here so-toss'd by Philander Misaurus was later pick'd up by surgeon John Marten in his rejoinder, titled by the name–"The Dishonour of the Gout". Which seeketh to shew all minds swayed by Philander's prettie words that—indubitably—Gout is misfortune. - Summary by Alasdair

A thriller about a down-and-out sailor finding his way in London. The book followed a successful play that was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock, and even made into a silent film. Its humour is irresistible. - Summary by Czandra

A humorous comedy of errors and light-hearted wit in the life of the likeable John Henry. When it comes to betting at the races, booze, his friends, and his woman Clara Jane, it's never a dull moment. The Hot-Air Association is in full session! Will Clara continue to go "down the line" with John Henry?