This long essay is a work of mock philology, one of several appendices to Twain’s travel novel, A Tramp Abroad. In it, Twain explains, complains about, and shows how one might improve upon various aspects of the (awful) German language. His examples of precisely how the German language is awful include the famed “separable verb” – which allows one to put the first part of a given verb at the beginning – and its second part at the end – of a given clause or sentence (which may, indeed, be very long). He also makes fun of the extreme length of certain compound nouns (which are created by tacking two – or more – words together, without using hyphens to clarify where one ends and the next begins), as well as the many noun and verb forms one must master (memorize) in order to use German cases properly.
As the essay progresses, Twain includes a few hilarious passages that are partly or mostly in (his own, awful) German. Nevertheless, the work is easily understandable even by people who don’t know any German at all.
(In the novel, A Tramp Abroad, Twain details his journey with his friend, Harris, through Germany, the Alps, and Italy, where he encounters various ridiculous situations. Here, much of the humor lies in his silly, often over-stated characterization of the circumstances as quickly grasped and easily explained by such a seasoned tourist as himself, while he also make plain throughout the profoundly strange nature of many of his experiences, and the various pitfalls he and Harris run into as they try to navigate their unfamiliar terrain.) (Introduction by Kirsten Wever)
8 episodes
The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories is a 1906 collection of 30 comic short stories by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. Published just 4 years before his death, this was the last time he chose works from throughout his career, in an effort to show the diversity of his style and the breadth and depth of his interests. (Introduction by John Greenman & Wikipedia )
41 episodes
The hilarious diary of a young man's recruitment into, and service in a navy, which, though well equipped and disciplined, remains woefully ill prepared for his arrival and dubious contribution. (Introduction by Nigel Boydell)
10 episodes
This book follows the adventures of Emma McChesney, a smart and savvy divorced mother who travels the Midwest as a sales representative for a large skirt and petticoat manufacturer. Her many adventures with people, (including predatory salesmen and hotel clerks), are funny and poignant. She is hardworking and able to outsell the slickest of the men salesmen. She has learned to focus on her work and her seventeen-year-old son, Jock. Experience has taught her that it is usually best to stick to roast beef, medium and not get stomach ache with fancy sauces and exotic dishes. This is the first of three volumes following the career and adventures of Emma McChesney. (Introduction by Phil Chenevert)
11 episodes
The "true" story of the Wantley Dragon. Set at Christmas time, it is a tale of a Baron, his daughter, a brave knight, True Love, and the terrible Dragon of Wantley. Oh, and don't forget the wine. (Summary by D. A. Frank )
11 episodes
Barry Pain's parody takes a sharp knife to ASM Hutchinson's best selling novel 'If Winter Comes'.We follow the professional and marital decline of long suffering (and loving it), Luke Sharper, as his marriage to Mabel flounders while his love for Jona flourishes. It could only end in tears.....Or could it? ( Summary by Nigel Boydell )
13 episodes
This is a collection of ten humorous short stories (Summary by Carolin)
20 episodes
Gulliver's reizen is een satirisch boek uit 1726 van de Ierse schrijver Jonathan Swift.
Het oorspronkelijke boek bevatte vier reisbeschrijvingen, waarvan alleen de eerste, over het land Lilliput, nu nog grote bekendheid geniet. In deze uitgave zijn alleen de eerste twee delen van het oorspronkelijke werk opgenomen. Het tweede deel heet ‘Een reis naar Brobdingnag’. (Samenvatting door Wikipedia en Bart de Leeuw)Tijdens de productie schreef Marcel Coenders, die de tekstcontrole van dit boek verzorgde: "Een mooi boek. Uiteraard kennen we allemaal de een-regel-samenvatting van dit boek: Gulliver gaat op reis in Liliputterland en in Reuzenland. Goed om het verhaal nu eens in een vollere omvang te beluisteren. Zeker geen kinderboekje."
16 episodes
Carl Stanton is an invalid suffering from an unusual bout of rheumatism. His fiancée is gone for the winter and though he begs her to write to help ease his boredom and pain she is stingy with her letters. She sends him what she calls a "ridiculous circular" which she states is very apropos of his sentimental passion for letters. In a sudden fit of mischief, malice and rheumatism, Carl decides to respond to the circular which results in bringing about the necessary distraction in a flurry of letters that do ease Carl’s boredom and pain but also bring him something else that he never quite expected. ( Summary by wikisource )
11 episodes
Uncle Remus tells these 11 stories but to the son of the original "little boy" who is visiting his grandmother on the plantation. As always Uncle Remus can be relied upon to provide funny and pointed insight into human personalities through his story telling. These were all published in the Uncle Remus magazine from 1905 and 1906 and gathered together in this book by the author. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)
12 episodes
Semi-autobiographical series of incidents in the life of an intellectual American family in the late 19th - early 20th Century as seen by favored daughter, Sylvia Marshall. Her father is an economics professor in a Midwestern state university and she is following in his inquisitive footsteps. Canfield writes this in a matter-of-fact manner with Tarkingtonesque good humor. ( Summary by BellonaTimes )
47 episodes
This is a collection of various articles found in Morning Herald columns. Some are found interesting, some may be hilarious! The 84 pieces of this book are actual reports throughout the 1870s newspaper written by the reporter, John Wight and Illustrated by George Cruikshank (Summary by Chris Caron)
22 episodes
Young Laroon plans to marry Isabel, but Father Martin manipulates Isabel's father, Jourdain, in order to seduce Isabel. However, other characters, including both of the Laroons, try to manipulate Jourdain for their own ends; they accomplish it through disguising themselves as priests and using his guilt to convince him of what they say. As Father Martin pursues Isabel, she is clever enough to realize what is happening and plans her own trap. After catching him and exposing his lust, Father Martin is set to be punished. (Summary by Wikipedia) (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast:Old Laroon: Noel BadrianYoung Laroon: Chris MarcellusFather Martin: Nathanial W.C. HigginsOld Jourdain: Kevin GreenIsabel: Arielle LipshawBeatrice: Michele EatonServant/Priest: Elizabeth KlettNarrator/Prologue: Lucy PerryAudio edited by: Arielle Lipshaw
3 episodes
The American Claimant is an 1892 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The story focuses on the class differences and expectations of monarchic, hierarchical Britain and the upstart, "all men are created equal" America. Twain wrote the novel with the help of phonographic dictation, the first author (according to Twain himself) to do so. This was also (according to Twain) an attempt to write a book without mention of the weather, the first of its kind in fictitious literature. Indeed, all the weather is contained in an appendix, at the back of the book, which the reader is encouraged to turn to from time to time. (Summary by Wikipedia and John Greenman)
27 episodes
Dime-store novelist William Magee has gone to Baldpate Inn to do a little soul-searching in an attempt to write a serious work. Thinking he will be alone and uninterrupted, Magee arrives at the inn in the dead of winter. But he discovers that there are six other keys to Baldpate Inn, and the holders of those keys enliven his stay with bribery, shootings and plenty of mystery. (Summary by Susan Umpleby & TriciaG)
22 episodes
Viscount Glencore has retreated to live alone with his son in Glencore castle after his wife deserted him claiming she did not love him. He wishes to exact revenge on her by denouncing the marriage and therefore proclaiming his son to be illegitimate. This consequently robs the child of his birthright and upon his father telling him his intentions, the boy runs away and refuses to return home. Glencore asks his old friend Upton to become the boys guardian to which he agrees after much protestation against it. The boy and his companion Billy move abroad to pursue their schooling and try to live a life of anonymity but all does not go according to plan. (Summary by Michele Eaton)
55 episodes
Clarence and Emmeline Mumford are in for a real treat when they take in the young, outspoken Miss Louise Derrick as their guest. Shedding a light on class struggles in the Victorian era, The Paying Guest offers a look at just what "proper society" expects. (Summary by Amanda Friday)Cast:Narrator: Elizabeth KlettClarence Mumford: AllenJohnsEmmeline Mumford: Arielle LipshawLouise Derrick: Amanda FridayMrs. Higgins: KristingjMr. Bilton/Man: Noel BadrianMr. Cobb: Robert HoffmanServant: April GonzalesDr. Billings: Ernst PattynamaMrs. Grove: Tiffany Halla ColonnaAudio edited by: Amanda Friday
9 episodes
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. Among Molière's best-known works is Tartuffe or The Hypocrite, written in 1664. Though Tartuffe was received well by the public and even by Louis XIV, its popularity was lessened when the Archbishop of Paris issued an edict threatening excommunication for anyone who watched, performed in, or read the play.Tartuffe, a pious fraud who pretends to speak with divine authority, has insinuated himself into the household of Orgon. When Orgon announces that his daughter Mariane is to marry Tartuffe instead of her fiance Valère, the rest of the family realizes the extent of Tartuffe's influence over Orgon. Tartuffe tries to seduce Orgon's wife Elmire, who traps him into revealing to Orgon his intentions toward her. Orgon throws Tartuffe out of the house, Tartuffe returns with an order of eviction for the family, and at the final moment the tables are turned and the play ends happily. (Summary by Wikipedia and Laurie Anne Walden)
5 episodes
Collection of short essays concerning French novelist and critic Paul Bourget. Included: "What Paul Bourget Thinks of Us" and "A Little Note to M. Paul Bourget". (Summary by John Greenman)
2 episodes
Emma is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance....As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma, however, is also rather spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives, and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray. (Summary by Wikipedia)Cast:Narrator, Volume 1: Bev J. StevensNarrator, Volumes 2 and 3: CaprishaPageMr. Henry Woodhouse: Robert HoffmanEmma Woodhouse: Amanda FridayMr. George Knightley: Jason MillsHarriet Smith: Eden Rea-HedrickMrs. Anne Weston: Tiffany Halla ColonnaMr. Philip Elton: Chris MarcellusMr. John Knightley: Noel BadrianMrs. Isabella Knightley: CaprishaPageMr. Weston: Algy PugMiss Bates: Arielle LipshawMrs. Bates: KerrieRae ClarkeJane Fairfax: April GonzalesFrank Churchill: Max KörlingeMrs. Augusta Elton: GraceMrs. Cole: Carmen HMrs. Isabella Knightley: CaprishaPageMrs. Ford: Elizabeth KlettAudio edited by Amanda Friday, Phil Chenevert, David Lawrence, Chuck Williamson, bala, CaprishaPage, Charlotte Duckett
55 episodes
Originally printed in The Morning Telegraph in New York, this is the story of Miss Sabrina, the show girl, and her ups and downs with the unpredictable theatrical industry and the Great White Way, the lights and glamour of Broadway. "In order to set myself right with both the public and the vast army of Sabrinas that add youth and beauty to our stage, and brilliancy and gaiety to our well known cafes, I wish to say that she is all that she should be...”- Kenneth McGaffey (Summary by Amanda Friday)Cast:Narrator: Chuck WilliamsonSabrina: Amanda FridayMr. Jenkins: Robert HoffmanAudio edited by: Amanda Friday
21 episodes
Just William is the first book of hilarious short stories about 11-year-old William Brown -- eternally scruffy and frowning. William's family, his elder sister Ethel and brother Robert, placid mother and stern father, and never-ending supply of elderly aunts, cannot understand him. William just likes DOING things, that's all! It's not his fault he likes DOING things, is it? (Summary by Kara and Wikipedia)
12 episodes
Before Downton Abbey, there was Mary Broome. In Allan Monkhouse's 1911 satire, when the son of a middle-class household gets their housemaid pregnant, the two families must try to combine their very different values. (Summary by wildemoose)Cast:Sheila Ray: GraceAda Timbrell: Charlotte DuckettEdgar Timbrell: mbMary Broome: Arielle LipshawLeonard Timbrell: balaMrs. Timbrell: Elizabeth KlettEdward Timbrell: ToddHWMaid: Beth ThomasMr. Pendleton: CalmDragonMrs. Pendleton: Tara DowMrs. Greaves: AvailleJohn Broome: John SteigerwaldMrs. Broome: CaprishaPageNarrator: MaryAnn SpiegelAudio edited by: Arielle Lipshaw
4 episodes
"The range of subjects treated in this book is wonderful, even to me. It is a library of universal knowledge, and the facts contained in it are different from any other facts now in use. I have carefully guarded, all the way through, against using hackneyed and moth-eaten facts. As a result, I am able to come before the people with a set of new and attractive statements, so fresh and so crisp that an unkind word would wither them in a moment." - Summary by The Author
96 episodes
A collection of short and humorous one-act "sequels" to 14 major plays (many already in the Librivox catalog).
Plays end too soon. They never show the whole of what I want to know.
The curtain falls and I'm perplexed with doubts about what happened next.
Did HAMLET'S father haunt no more the battlements of Elsinore?
Does LADY TEAZLE never call at LADY SNEERWELL'S now at all?
Was BENEDICK'S a happy marriage? And will the MELNOTTES keep a carriage?
Will AUBREY take to wife one day another MRS. TANQUERAY?
Do ECCLES and his stepson wrangle? Has anything been heard of DANGLE?
What has become of MRS. WANGEL?
I've asked again and yet again these questions hitherto in vain!
I sought the answers near and far. At length they came, and here they are:-
(Summary is Prefatory to the book) -
Cast:
alanmapstone;
Algy Pug;
Amanda Friday;
Availle;
bala;
Bev J. Stevens;
CaprishaPage;
Charlotte Duckett;
Eden Rea-Hedrick;
Elizabeth Klett;
Emily Jones;
Grace;
Karen Savage;
Libby Gohn;
Loveday;
mb;
Ruth Golding;
Peter Yearsley;
Sarah Oh!;
ToddHW
14 episodes
グリム童話のラプンツェルに設定が似た物語を、５人の兄弟姉妹が、正月に連作するという話。On new year's day 5 brothers & sisters write a story similar to Grimm Brothers' Rapunzel. (Summary by ekzemplaro)
6 episodes
Cranford is set in a small market town populated largely by a number of respectable ladies. It tells of their secrets and foibles, their gossip and their romances as they face the challenges of dealing with new inhabitants to their society and innovations to their settled existence. It was first published between 1851 and 1853 as episodes in Charles Dickens’ Journal Household Words. Appended to this recording is a short sequel, The Cage at Cranford, written ten years later and published in the journal All the Year Round. In a letter to Mrs. Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte wrote: “Thank you for your letter, it was as pleasant as a quiet chat, as welcome as spring showers, as reviving as a friend’s visit; in short, it was very like a page of Cranford.”... Cranford is a genteel and humorous look at Victorian society by Elizabeth Gaskell, and is quite a change from her more gritty novels like Mary Barton or North and South. (Summary by Noel Badrian)
18 episodes
A comic dialogue written in John Collier's idiosyncratic version of the 18th century South Lancashire dialect together with a collection of 19th century texts on Collier and his work. Egged on by Meary (Mary), Tummus (Thomas) recounts the series of misadventures that ensue when he makes a trip to Rochdale on an errand for his master. First published in 1746, the text grew over subsequent editions as Collier expanded the story, added a preface in which he berates publishers who had pirated his work, and inflated and amended his glossary. The text read here is the final version of the preface, dialogue and glossary, which appeared in an 1862 edition of Collier's works. Collier's texts are followed by several accounts of Collier's life and commentaries on his work, Elijah Riding's 1860 'plain English' translation of the Tummus and Meary text, and three poems set at Collier's graveside in Rochdale. (Summary by Phil Benson)
20 episodes
Martin Chuzzlewit was Dickens 6th novel, serially published in 1843 - 44. Irrespective of the fact that Dickens considered - "Chuzzlewit is in 100 points immeasurably the best of my stories"- it failed to resonate with, or capture the public's imagination as many of its predecessors had done. However by the1850s its popularity had risen and it eventually found recognition as the great novel that it is.The beginning is somewhat protracted but the prose is magnificent throughout. The theme of the story is about selfishness and obstinacy. The callow eponymous hero Martin Chuzzlewit is estranged from his grandfather (Martin Chuzzlewit the elder) for having the temerity to fall in love with his grandfather's ward — Mary Graham. The Chuzzlewit family are all placed under the microscope as Martin journeys on a voyage of what can only be termed as "self-discovery". His journeying takes him to America, where his experiences change him forever and he returns a far better man. Woven around the theme of the book are some of Dickens most finely drawn characters, ranging from the comic: Seth Pecksniff, an oily unctuous hypocrite, Mrs Gamp a nurse with a propensity for strong liquor and a delightful way of mangling the English language: to the macabre Jonas Chuzzlewit a dark brooding murderer. There are plots within plots, deception and artifice abound, confidence tricksters on both sides of the Atlantic, and a vicious murder.This is a satirical novel, particularly when Martin is in America and Dickens, who never shirked from social criticism, utilized that portion of the book to express his feelings on his experiences during his visit to America in1842. It is a comical novel, humour being prevalent throughout, witness Mrs Gamp "Rich folk may ride on camels, but it ain't so easy for em to see out of the needles eye". The irrepressible and precocious young Bailey strutting and posing in his Footman's livery. The deeply melancholic Augustus Moddle, desperate to be run over but finding no takers! and doomed to marry the wrong sister.
56 episodes
Another delightful example of an English writer poking fun at his countrymen, or maybe all races' reactions to someone from a diferent background.
A series of adventures of a well educated foreigner in London which originally appeared weekly in Punch, sometimes with illustrations, dealing with the difficulties of fully understanding a different culture.
The hero's perfect English reminds one of a quote from "My Fair Lady" ..."His English is too good, he said, "that clearly indicates that he is Foreign.
Whereas other people are instructed in their native language English people aren't."
(Summary by Annise)
32 episodes
Jenkins' most popular fictional creation was Mr. Joseph Bindle, who first appeared in a humorous novel in 1916 and in a number of sequels. In the preface to the books, T. P. O'Connor said that "Bindle is the greatest Cockney that has come into being through the medium of literature since Dickens wrote Pickwick Papers". The stories are based on the comedic drama of life at work, at home and all the adventures that take place along the way. (Summary by Wikipedia)
16 episodes
Sigge Strömberg, född som Sigfrid Strömberg 22 december 1885 i Göteborg, död 3 mars 1920, svensk författare och journalist.Strömberg praktiserade på en tidning i Minneapolis 1904-1905. Han återkom till Sverige och var verksam inom landsortspressen. Han arbetade 1910-1913 på den nystartade Vecko-Journalen, och 1914-1920 var han chefredaktör för Allt för Alla. Kort före sin död åtog sig han chefskapet för skämttidningen Kasper. Som författare skrev Strömberg huvudsakligen äventyrsberättelser samt pojkböcker. ”Baron Olsson och andra historier” är en samling korta, blandade kåserier om klurigheter, dårskaper, fåfänga, girighet mm. (Summary: Lars Rolander)
18 episodes
Includes: An introduction by Dorothy Scarborough -- The Canterville ghost / by Oscar Wilde -- The ghost-extinguisher / by Gelett Burgess -- "Dey ain't no ghosts" / by Ellis Parker Butler -- The transferred ghost / by Frank R. Stockton -- The mummy's foot / Théophile Gautier -- The rival ghosts / Brander Matthews -- The water ghost of Harrowby Hall / by John Kendrick Bangs -- Back from that bourne / Anonymous -- The ghost-ship / by Richard Middleton -- The transplanted ghost / by Wallace Irwin -- The last ghost in Harmony / by Nelson LLoyd -- The ghost of Miser Brimpson / by Eden Phillpotts -- The haunted photograph / by Ruth McEnery Stuart -- The ghost that got the button / by Will Adams -- The specter bridegroom / by Washington Irving -- The specter of Tappington / compiled by Richard Barham -- In the barn / by Burges Johnson -- A shady plot / by Elsie Brown -- The lady and the ghost / by Rose Cecil O'Neill. (Summary by Sarah Engracia Parshall)
25 episodes
A series of essays offering a humorous look at commonplace items and occurrences. (Summary by Nick Bulka)
37 episodes
What happens when a mix of lovers get stuck together on a coast-to-coast train? Mainly hilarity. There is every kind of couple imaginable. One serviceman and his bride-to-be are trying desperately to get married but can't find a clergyman to perform the rites. They don't know that right in their midst is a preacher disguised as a man of the world so he and his wife can enjoy a carefree vacation. Then there is a drunk mourning his separation from the wife who just happens to be on the same train. There is even a confirmed bachelor who discovers that a confirmed spinster is his long-lost love from years ago. How these lives intertwine makes up the plot of this rollicking comedy. The piece contains racial slurs, which, although acceptable in the time and place of the story's setting, may offend modern listeners. (Summary by Bill Boerst)Cast List:
Narrator, Portland Porter, Hudson, Shaw, Man, Voice One, Supposed Preacher, Fireman, Baumann, Waiter, Robber 2: Bill Boerst
Marjorie: Amanda Friday
Mallory: Larry Wilson
Cab Driver, Stranger: tiwo007
Clergyman, Charlie: David Olson
Porter, Gambler: cobbdb
Wedgewood: Greenman66
Ira: Nick Bulka
Conductor: Marty
Transfer Agent, Mrs Temple, Voice Two, Train Boy: TriciaG
Anne: Availle
Mrs Wellington: Shauna Kennett
Jimmie: Michele Eaton
Dr Temple: Brett W Downey
Mrs Fosdick: Micky
Fosdick. Robber 1: Zames Curran
Mrs Whitcomb: Beth Thomas
Man in Overalls: Arnaldo Machado
Ashton: ToddHW
Mrs Deacon: Victoria P
Kitty: Woolly Bee
Editor: Michele Eaton
Proof-Listeners: Bill Boerst & Michele Eaton
41 episodes
Although best known for his Winnie the Pooh stories, A.A. Milne spent years as an editor at the English humor magazine Punch. These sprightly essays were chosen from the hundreds he wrote during that period. As usual, they are funny, wry, and poke fun at almost all of our human foibles. There are 6 short one act plays that he wrote to demonstrate the 6 allowable plots for amateur playwrights and they are absolutely hilarious. The other topics run the gamut from dogs to dates. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)
56 episodes
After reading and re-reading the book many time as a boy and wishing that Lewis Carroll would have written another Alice In Wonderland Book, John Rae began imagining what that girl would have gotten up to if he had done so. Telling these stories to his children over the years, where they were enthusiastically received, he finally decided to share them with the world. And here they are! The New Adventures of Alice (Summary by Phil Chenevert)
Narrator: Lydia
Mother: Michele Eaton
Betsy, Alice's Sister: Amanda Friday
Alice: Haili
Snipe: Shakira Searle
Man in the Moon, Snowman, Snail Doorman: Anastasiia Solokha
Blackbird, Cook: Bria Snow
Town Crier: Charlotte Brown
The Peevish Printer, Johnny Stout: Barry Eads
Barber, Kitten, Baker, Joiner, Doctor Foster, Artist: Kimberly Krause
Archers, Grenadier, Old-Man-All-Dressed-in-Leather, King Cole: Larry Wilson
Poet: Beth Thomas
Captain Tee Wee, Candlestick-Maker, Captain Swordfish: Rebecca Braunert-Plunkett
Milkman, Postman, Fireman, Footman: ToddHW
Butcher: Arnaldo Machado
Queen: Maryanka
Audio Edited By: Michele EatonThis project was proof listened by Patrick Wells
17 episodes
Herbert Jenkins' most popular fictional creation was Mr. Joseph Bindle, who first appeared in a humorous novel in 1916 and in a number of sequels. In the preface to the books, T. P. O'Connor said that "Bindle is the greatest Cockney that has come into being through the medium of literature since Dickens wrote Pickwick Papers". The stories are based on the comedic drama of life at work, at home and all the adventures that take place along the way. It becomes clear as the stories progress that Bindle would not be who he is without Mrs. Bindle, and this book seeks to tell the stories of the Bindles from the distaff point of view. (Summary by Wikipedia and Don W. Jenkins)
13 episodes
Rezept für eine leicht bekömmliche (Urlaubs-) Lektüre: Man nehme einen Arzt mit originellem Kur-Konzept, einen hiervon begeisterten amerikanischen Millionär und eine ganze Reihe Kurgäste, die ihr Leben an der Rezeption abzulegen bereit sind um "Ferien vom Ich" zu machen. Diese Mischung wird garniert mit einem Schuss Familientragödie, diversen Verwechslungen, Romanzen und unvorhergesehenen Zwischenfällen- und schliesslich mit einer ordentlichen Portion Humor serviert. (Rebecca Braunert-Plunkett)
16 episodes
Bangs is in top form in his version of this small collection of timeless fairy tales. If you don't immediately recognize Jack and the Check Book, Puss, the Promoter, and the Golden Fleece, don't worry, you soon will. - Summary by Cate Barratt
6 episodes
A young man, finding himself unexpectedly impecunious, attempts to improve his fortunes by wagering that he can speak nothing but the absolute truth for three weeks. He soon learns, however, that telling only the unvarnished truth can have surprising consequences. This 1914 novel of love, mystery, and misunderstandings, with amusing characters and plot twists, was adapted as a Broadway play in 1916, followed by six motion pictures: in 1920 and 1929; in 1931 separately in Spanish, French and German; and in 1941 starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Frederic S. Isham was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. (Lee Smalley)
24 episodes
A young man came to Lloyds of London. He knew they took out policies on unusual risks... And what he wanted was love insurance. What follows is a comic novel, by the creator of the Chinese detective - Charlie Chan!
- Summary by Linda Andrus
22 episodes
Ellis Parker Butler was an American author. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays. These are eight of his humorous short stories about life. - Summary by KirksVoice
12 episodes
A puppy, unanounced and unordered, arrives in a crate at Mr. Murchison's house. Humorous events follow. - Summary by david wales
2 episodes
Fables for the Frivolous is one of the earliest works by the American parodist Guy Wetmore Carryl. These fables are adapted from Jean de La Fontaine's original writings. The Aesop-style fables are written in verse, and are light-hearted re-tellings of fables from two centuries before, each ending with a moral and a pun. Among the more celebrated of the fables are The Persevering Tortoise and the Pretentious Hare, The Arrogant Frog and the Superior Bull, and The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven. ( from Wikipedia)
20 episodes
Mortimer Q. Thomson (September 2, 1832 – June 25, 1875) was an American journalist and humorist who wrote under the pseudonym Q. K. Philander Doesticks. He was born in Riga, New York and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended Michigan University in Ann Arbor, but was expelled along with several others either for his involvement in secret societies[1] or for "too much enterprise in securing subjects for the dissecting room."[2] After a brief period working in theater, he became a journalist and lecturer.
For his published writings he used the pen name "Q. K. Philander Doesticks, P. B.", a pseudonym he had first used in university (the full version is "Queer Kritter Philander Doesticks, Perfect Brick"). Knight Russ Ockside is apparently a pen name for Edward Fitch Underhill, however no information is available for either name. The Elephant Club describes the formation and adventures of six strangers who all met by chance the same day and decided that they would like to continue the group by forming a club to get to know their city, New York, again and share their experiences. THE ELEPHANT CLUB, and having in view the following OBJECTS:
1. The enjoyment and amusement of its members through.
2. A profound study of the Metropolitan Elephant, by surveying him in
all his majesty of proportion, by tracing him to his secret haunts, and
observing his habits, both in his wild and domestic state.
- Summary by Wikipedia, Don W. Jenkins
13 episodes
The author has discovered for us in this volume the present stopping place of that famous raconteur of dear comic memory, the late Hieronymous Carl Friederich, sometime Baron Munchausen, and he transmits to us some further adventures of this traveler and veracious relator of merry tales. There are about a dozen of these tales, and, judging by Mr. Bangs' recital of them, the Baron's adventures on this mundane sphere were no more exciting than those he has encountered since taking the ferry across the Styx. Mr. Bangs proves himself well worthy of the task of reintroducing this merry old wag to modern fun-lovers, and in selecting from the tales the Baron has related to him he has chosen with an eye to the humorous which is unfailing in its clearness and keenness of perception. (Review from Book News, V. 20, 1902)
16 episodes
A collection of short stories by famed humorist and Punch magazine staff member, F. Anstey, pseudonym for Thomas Anstey Guthrie. They range from humorous and whimsical to haunting and thought-provoking. - Summary by Lynne Thompson
16 episodes
In his inimitable way, Mark Twain gives sound advice about how to tell a story, then lets us in on some curious incidents he experienced, and finishes with a trip that proves life-changing. - Summary by Claudia Salto
3 episodes
This is a quite amusing nautical tale of the British Navy of the around the year 1700. While, as with much early 'humor', it is somewhat heavy-handed, the sympathies
of the author are clear and good, and cruelty is often averted by good fortune or background characters. First published under the title 'The Dog Fiend', the primary
characters are an evil captain of a cutter and his dog. The dog seems indestructible, as is the poor cabin boy who is the butt of the captain's ill humor, and who often
is chewed on by the dog. The cutter is sent against smugglers, transporting ' Alamodes and lute strings' - a term for foreign silks. But, the smugglers really are
Jacobites plotting against King William, and much of the action relates to politics of that time.
( Arnold Banner)
55 episodes
