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By: Edward S. Van Zile (1863-1931)

Book cover Perkins, the Fakeer: A Travesty on Reincarnation

As the title suggests we are treated to three humourous and curious psychical transpositions in the cases of "When Reginald was Caroline," "How Chopin came to Remsen," and "Clarissa's troublesome baby" . If you're looking for a break from more serious fare you can count on this one to amuse and entertain you. Summary by Celine Major.

By: Bill Nye (1850-1896)

Book cover Baled Hay: A Drier Book than Walt Whitman's ''Leaves o' Grass''

There can really be no excuse for this last book of trite and beautiful sayings. I do not attempt, in any way, to palliate this great wrong. I would not do so even if I had an idea what palliate meant. . . . I have taken great care to thoroughly eradicate anything that would have the appearance of poetry in this work, and there is not a thought or suggestion contained in it that would soil the most delicate fabric. Do not read it all at once, however, in order to see whether he married the girl or not. Take a little at a time, and it will cure gloom on the "similia simili-bus curanter" principle. - Summary by Bill Nye

By: Ralph Keeler (1840-1873)

Book cover Vagabond Adventures

Ralph Keeler failed as a novelist, but this autobiography reflects a life well-lived with humor and adventure. Keeler was in the same literary circle as satirist Bret Harte, novelist Charles Warren Stoddard, editor Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and essayist William Dean Howells. He so impressed Mark Twain that Twain wrote an essay about him called "Ralph Keeler". In 1873, on his way to Cuba, he reportedly was thrown overboard by a Spanish loyalist who objected to his backing of the revolutionary, anti-Spanish movement. - Summary by John Greenman

By: H. G. Wells (1866-1946)

Book cover Bealby; A Holiday

Bealby is the comical story of the escapade of a thirteen-year-old boy when he rebels against his placement as a steward's-room boy in the great house of an estate named Shonts and flees—not, however, before thoroughly upsetting a weekend party where the nouveau riche couple renting Shonts is entertaining the Lord Chancellor. - Summary by Wikipedia

By: Don Marquis (1878-1937)

Book cover Old Soak, and Hail And Farewell

Published in 1921 , "Hail and Farewell" is a collection of poems in honour of alcohol, drunkenness, and all things related.In "The Old Soak", an old codger grumbles and connives to get alcohol in the age of Prohibition. Part is narrative, and part is installments from The Old Soak's papers. “I'm writing a diary. A diary of the past. A kind of gol-dinged autobiography of what me and Old King Booze done before he went into the grave and took one of my feet with him. In just a little while now there won't be any one in this here broad land of ours, speaking of it geographically, that knows what an old-fashioned barroom was like...

By: Hugh Walpole (1884-1941)

Book cover Jeremy And Hamlet: A Chronicle Of Certain Incidents In The Lives Of A Boy, A Dog, And A Country Town

Hamlet is Jeremy’s dog. This 1923 book is Hugh Walpole’s second volume in his Jeremy semi-autobiographical trilogy , Jeremy at Crale ), about a ten-year-old English boy. One commentator wrote this of the first book: “With affectionate humor, Mr. Walpole tells the story of Jeremy and his two sisters, Helen and Mary Cole, who grow up in Polchester, a quiet English Cathedral town…. Mr. Walpole has given his narrative a rare double appeal, for it not only recreates for the adult the illusion of his own happiest youth, but it unfolds for the child-reader a genuine and moving experience with real people and pleasant things...

By: Stuart Mason (1872-1927)

Book cover Oscar Wilde Calendar

A compendium of Oscar Wilde's wit, including some of his most famous epigrams as well as unpublished quotations supplied by his friends. The book is formatted as a calendar, with one saying for each day of the year, and was edited by Wildean scholar, Stuart Mason . - Summary by Rob Marland

By: Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Book cover Mark Twain's Travel Letters from 1891-92

This collection of Mark Twain travel letters was compiled by Barbara Schmidt for her website, TwainQuotes.com. According to his biographer, Albert Bigelow Paine, when Twain took his family to Europe in June of 1891, he left with the knowledge that the McClure Syndicate and W. M. Laffan of the New York Sun would pay him one thousand dollars each for six travel letters. Twain’s letters eventually appeared in numerous papers including the Chicago Sunday Tribune, Atlanta Constitution, Boston Globe in addition to the New York Sun...

By: Anthony Henderson Euwer (1877-1955)

Book cover Christopher Cricket on Cats

Humorous---and insightful---commentary on cats in prose and poetry. - Summary by KevinS

By: E. Phillips Oppenheim (1866-1946)

Book cover Curious Quest

A sweet, simple tale of how friendship and honesty triumph over money. The protagonist’s pun of a name—Ernest Bliss—foreshadows the plot in which this bored young millionaire transforms his indolent self and finds love. Typical of its era , this book contains a few antisemitic stereotypes. The story was made famous by the 1936 film The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss with Cary Grant and Mary Brian. E. Phillips Oppenheim , was born in London and wrote more than one hundred novels as well as many short stories and film adaptations, some under the name of Anthony Partridge. His 1941 autobiography, The Pool of Memory, is well worth reading.

By: Various

Book cover Anzac Book

A collection of prose, poetry, jokes, special orders, et cetera written by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps combatants of the Gallipoli Campaign . - Summary by KevinS

By: Stephen Leacock (1869-1944)

Book cover Garden Of Folly

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

By: James Stephens (1882-1950)

Book cover Charwoman's Daughter

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.

By: Arthur Scott Bailey (1877-1949)

Book cover Tale of Paddy Muskrat

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

By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)

Book cover Bill the Conqueror

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.

By: O. Henry (1862-1910)

Book cover O. Henryana

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

By: Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Book cover Europe and Elsewhere

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.

By: Israel Zangwill (1864-1926)

Book cover Bachelors' Club

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

By: Carleton Britton Case

Book cover Stories from the Trenches: Funny Tales the Soldiers Tell

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

By: Henry Wallace Phillips (1869-1930)

Book cover Trolley Folly

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

By: Josephine Daskam Bacon (1876-1961)

Book cover Best Nonsense Verses

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.

By: Frank Thomas Bullen (1857-1915)

Book cover Confessions of a Tradesman

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

By: François Rabelais (1494-1553)

Book cover Gargantua and Pantagruel, Book III

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

By: Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

Book cover Antic Hay

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.

By: William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

Book cover Our Street

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.

By: Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

Book cover Old New York

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

By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)

Book cover Ukridge

“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

By: W. H. Fawcett (1885-1940)

Book cover Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol 1, No. 11, August, 1920

"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

By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)

Book cover Gentleman of Leisure

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

By: W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911)

Book cover Pinafore Picture Book: The Story Of H.M.S. Pinafore (Version 2)

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

By: P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975)

Book cover Sam In The Suburbs

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...

By: W. H. Fawcett (1885-1940)

Book cover Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, Vol. 3, No. 28, December, 1921

"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


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