Humor Classics

This fictitious memoir, detailing the desperately suburban life of an obnoxious prig, was published anonymously in 1924. While it resembles the much better known The Diary of a Nobody, the satire is more far-reaching and devastating, and the main character is one of the most memorable in comic fiction. The actual author was later discovered to be Sir Henry Howarth Bashford (1880-1961), who enjoyed a distinguished career in medicine and served as personal physician to King George VI.

Set in the 1920s, The Glimpses of the Moon details the romantic misadventures of Nick Lansing and Susy Branch, a couple with the right connections but not much in the way of funds. They devise a shrewd bargain: they'll marry and spend a year or so sponging off their wealthy friends, honeymooning in their mansions and villas.

In Flatland, originally published in 1884, a humble square describes his two-dimensional world to benefit the inhabitants of Spaceland, the three-dimensional realm he discovers when he is visited by a being from beyond his plane. With dry wit and wild imagination, author Edwin Abbott Abbott builds a meticulous fantasy world rooted in an astute apprehension of psychology, politics, and social structures, as well as basic geometry. The story of Flatland, at once ridiculous and profound, delivers an incisive satire of social discourse that remains remarkably relevant today.

This motley crew of “Pickwickians” is led by Samuel Pickwick, the philosopher without any great ideas. He is joined by Tracy Tupman, the romantic who cannot hold down a relationship; Augustus Snodgrass, the poet who has never written poetry; and Nathaniel Winkle, the sportsman without any skill. Together, they encounter a series of misadventures that will leave listeners laughing out loud.

Our Woman refuses to be sunk by what life is about to serve her. She’s just caught her son Jimmy in the barn with another man. She’s been accosted by Red the Twit, who claims to have done the unmentionable with her husband. And now her son’s gone and joined the only group that will have...

A comic novel about a Midwestern professor who tries to prop up his failing prospects for happiness by setting out on the Journey of a Lifetime. Louie Hake is forty-three and teaches architectural history at a third-rate college in Michigan. His second marriage is collapsing, and he's facing a...

Experiencing a story read out loud is one of the oldest forms of entertainment there is. Fireside Reading is a way to slow down, reconnect with the timeless wisdom of great books and rediscover the simple pleasure of being read to. Join Gildart Jackson in front of a cozy fire as he reads My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse to you and your family from beginning to end.

Jeeves and Wooster return! In this collection of short stories, P.G. Wodehouse - the Master of British Comedy - puts his affable but daffy protagonist Bertie Wooster through the wringer time and again, only to be saved (usually in the nick of time) by his trusty manservant Jeeves. Featuring such favorites from the series as Bingo Little, Aunt Agatha, and the chaotic twins Eustace and Claude, The Inimitable Jeeves brings Bertie to America and back as he attempts to assist is friend Bingo to finally tie the knot.

A classic collection of stories featuring some of the funniest episodes in the life of Bertie Wooster, gentleman, and Jeeves, his gentleman's gentleman - in which Bertie's terrifying Aunt Agatha stalks the pages, seeking whom she may devour, while Bertie's friend Bingo Little falls in love with seven different girls in succession (including the bestselling romantic novelist Rosie M. Banks). And Bertie, with Jeeves's help, hopes to evade the clutches of the terrifying Honoria Glossop.... At its heart is one of Wodehouse's most delicious stories, The Great Sermon Handicap.

Was machen drei junge, hypochondrische Freunde samt einem neurotischen Foxterrier, wenn sie dem Wetter entfliehen wollen und wilde Abenteuer suchen? Sie packen Blazer, Hut und Schlips ein und fahren in einem Ruderboot auf der Themse in die Wildnis hinauf. Doch sie haben den Büchsenöffner vergessen, die Zahnbürste ist unauffindbar, und wenn sie einem Schild begegnen, auf dem steht "Achtung! Gefahr! Nicht hier entlang!", dann steuern sie schnurstracks in ihr Verderben.

While pretending to be an account of an epic journey rowing a boat up the Thames, this hilarious audiobook makes memorable side trips into such matters as hypochondria, the charms of graves and epitaphs, being lost in a maze, and how to sing a comic song - all explored with wit and elegance.

A soldier in the First World War who never actually sees any combat, Josef Svejk is the awkward protagonist - and none of the other characters can quite decide whether his bumbling efforts to get to the front are genuine or not. Often portrayed as one of the first anti-war novels, Hasek's classic satire is a tour-de-force of modernist writing, influencing later writers such as Hemingway, Faulkner and Joseph Heller.

Eugenia, a baroness divorced from a German prince, and her bohemian brother, Felix, are coming back to America. Raised and cultured in Europe, they are returning destitute to New England to seek out their rich and innocent cousins. In a bungle of culture clash and love triangles, the Europeans hang their fortunes upon their ability to adapt. Where their scheming leads them is the last place they expect.

“If John Steinbeck’s mighty Grapes of Wrath is the tragic novel of the Great Depression, then Heaven’s My Destination is its comic masterpiece. —J.D. McClatchy A hilarious tale about goodness in a fallen world, Heaven’s My Destination introduces George Marvin Brush, one of...

Die schönsten und erfolgreichsten Gedichte und Geschichten von Wilhelm Busch in einer Box...

A palm reader notifies Lord Arthur that murder is in his future. But not his murder - he’s the murderer. This really throws a wrench into his wedding plans, for Lord Arthur is soon to be married to the most beautiful lady in London. In fact he loves her so much, he decides to postpone the wedding until his business is done. Now, for a tasteful homicide....

Ultima opera compiuta di Dickens, la storia si snoda lungo il Tamigi, testimone e causa di morti. Ma la storia non è cupa come il suo inizio potrebbe far sembrare; la morale sui danni della cupidigia è evidente, il lieto fine inevitabile. La scrittura è qui più moderna, ironica, graffiante, quando tratta delle ipocrisie e inutilità della "vita di società" della borghesia.

L'opera (qui nella traduzione di Silvio Spaventa Filippi) fu scritta a puntate, come le precedenti, nel 1843-44, ma la tiratura delle copie fu circa la metà dei precedenti successi di Dickens, per cui ci fu una rottura con gli editori che costrinsero Dickens a rimborsare il denaro da loro spesi. Dickens cambiò allora il titolo dell'opera in "America", approffittando del suo viaggio in America per inserire una satira di quel continente e dei suoi abitanti, satira tanto più feroce in quanto sentiva che il nuovo mondo aveva distrutto delle illusioni di quanti speravano di vedervi realizzati i propri ideali.

Casa Desolata è il nono romanzo di Dickens. Non è uno dei romanzi più noti di Dickens, certamente è uno dei più complessi, con una grandissima quantità di personaggi, che vengono presentati dettagliatamente nella prima parte del romanzo, per poi ritrovarne le vite intrecciate in trame insospettabili. Inoltre, più che in altri romanzi, lo scrittore coglie l’occasione per denunciare l’indifferenza verso la povertà e l’ingiustizia presenti nella società dell’epoca.

New Saucerian is pleased to offer a reprint of John Keel's rare classic comedy book, The Fickle Finger of Fate.