Subject: Humorous Fiction | Page #2
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The Diary of a Nobody George Grossmith
The Diary of a Nobody is so unassuming a work that even its author, George Grossmith, seemed unaware that he had produced a masterpiece. For more than a century this wonderfully comic portrayal of suburban life and values has remained in print, a source of delight to generations of readers, and a major literary... read more »
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The Europeans Henry James
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. Eugenia wins the attentions of Robert Acton, the most appropriate suitor in the area... read more »
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The Gem Collector P. G. Wodehouse
The action begins with playboy bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousian romantic farce, set... read more »
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The Gold Bat P. G. Wodehouse
When O'Hara and Moriarty, two boys at Wrykyn School, tar and feather the statue of a pompous local MP, O'Hara mislays at the scene of their crime a tiny gold bat borrowed from Trevor, captain of the school cricket team. The plot revolves around the fate of this bat and attempts to retrieve it, but the real focus of... read more »
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The Hand of Ethelberta Thomas Hardy
The only novel from Hardy that that provides a lighter tale, The Hand of Ethelberta, gives account of the life of a woman who lifts herself to the higher classes of the society. read more »
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The Head of Kay's P. G. Wodehouse
It is the general view at Eckleton school that there never was such a house of slackers as Kay's. Fenn, head of house and county cricketer, does his best to impose some discipline but is continually undermined by his house-master, the meddlesome and ineffectual Mr Kay. After the Summer Concert fiasco, Mr Kay... read more »
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The History of Mr. Polly H. G. Wells
Mr Polly is an ordinary middle-aged man who is tired of his wife’s nagging and his dreary job as the owner of a regional gentleman’s outfitters. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, he concludes that the only way to escape his frustrating existence is by burning his shop to the ground, and killing himself... read more »
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The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners set in Victorian England. Algernon lives in London and says he has a sick friend in the country. He uses visits to his imaginary friend to get out of things. His best friend, Ernest, is also Jack and is doing the exact same thing. Misunderstandings abound in... read more »
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The Intrusion of Jimmy P. G. Wodehouse
The intrusion of Jimmy is a fast-paced farce about love and burglary. Playboy Jimmy Pitt is a betting man, and he reckons that breaking into a house isn't so difficult. He makes a wager that he can do it himself, but finds it heavier going than he expected when the house he burgles turns out to belong to a New York... read more »
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The Little Nugget P. G. Wodehouse
The Little Nugget is one of the novels in which Wodehouse found his feet, a light comic thriller set in an English prep school for the children of the nobility and gentry. Into their midst comes eleven-year-old Ogden Ford, the mouthy, overweight, chain-smoking son of an American millionaire. Ogden (whom we meet... read more »
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The Man Upstairs P. G. Wodehouse
Wodehouse's well-known gift for satisfying plots and comic surprises is evident on every page, but there are also signs of his debt to earlier writers in the realistic tradition. Set mainly in London or New York, many of the stories concern ordinary people - shopassistants, schoolmasters, secretaries, servants... read more »
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The Man With Two Left Feet P. G. Wodehouse
A miscellaneous collection mostly of stories concerning relationships, sports and household pets. It does not feature any of Wodehouse's regular characters; one however, "Extricating Young Gussie", is remarkable as the first appearance of some of Wodehouse's most well-known and beloved characters, Jeeves and his... read more »
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The Pickwick Papers Charles Dickens
Dickens takes up on an exploration of the perils, travels, and adventures of the Pickwick Club's members: the founding chairman, former businessman and amateur scientist Mr. Pickwick; his trusted companion Sam Weller; the sportsman Winkle; the poet Snodgrass; and the lover Tracy Tupman. read more »
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The Pothunters P. G. Wodehouse
When someone breaks into the cricket pavilion and steals two silver cups, the whole school is agog. Could it possibly be an inside job? Nothing less than the honour of St Austin's is at stake, not to mention the reputation of Jim Thomson, an excellent athlete with a talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong... read more »
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The Prince and Betty P. G. Wodehouse
The story tells of how unscrupulous millionaire Benjamin Scobell decides to build a casino on the small Mediterranean island of Mervo, dragging in the unwitting heir to the throne to help. Little does he know that his stepdaughter Betty has history with the young man John Maude, and his schemes lead to a rift... read more »
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The Sin of Monsieur Pettipon Richard Connell
A collection of humorous short stories with a diverse set of characters and settings from the vivid imaginations of Connell, that will remind of you The Twilight Zone, with critiques against idle curiosity, arrogance, superficiality, and uninformed decision-making. read more »
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The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether Edgar Allan Poe
The story follows an unnamed narrator who visits a mental institution in southern France known for a revolutionary new method of treating mental illnesses called the "system of soothing." A companion with whom he is travelling knows Monsieur Maillard, the originator of the system, and makes introductions before... read more »
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The Wheels of Chance H. G. Wells
Although H. G. Wells is best known for his science fiction stories he wrote in many genres including history, and social commentaries. The Wheels of Chance was written when the bicycle was beginning to become very popular (1890 -1905) and saw bicycles becoming a part of social changes in England. People could move... read more »
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The White Feather P. G. Wodehouse
In order to save his reputation and the honour of his house at school after he shames himself by running away from a fight between fellow pupils and toughs from the local town, a studious schoolboy takes up the study of boxing. This charming early novel by P. G. Wodehouse plays a series of witty variations on the... read more »
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Three Men and a Maid P. G. Wodehouse
Wilhelmina Billie Bennett, red-haired daughter of American millionaire Rufus, loves golf, dogs and Tennyson and is to marry Eustace Hignett, the weak, poetry-writing son of Mrs. Horace Hignett, the famous English writer on theosophy. Enter Sam Marlowe, Eustace's cousin, who plays tournament golf, and Jane Hubbard... read more »
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Three Men in a Boat Jerome K. Jerome
The erratic progress of J. Harris, George and Montmorency the dog won immediate approval of Londoners, while readers all over the world saw Three Men in a Boat as a key to the British character. The project, which began as an attempt to promote pleasure boating, became one of the greatest comedy turns of Victorian... read more »
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Three Men on the Bummel Jerome K. Jerome
A "bummel" is a journey without end. Whether we want to or not, most of us have to settle with a return to our regular exertions. So do these heroes of Three Men in a Boat, only on this occasion, a cycling trip through the Black Forest, it seems they may cycle on forever, such are their problems. Whether it's George... read more »
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Tom Jones Henry Fielding
A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire—though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own... read more »
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Tristram Shandy Laurence Sterne
At once endlessly facetious and highly serious, Sterne's great comic novel contains some of the best-known and best-loved characters in English literature--including Uncle Toby, Corporal Trim, Parson Yorick, and Dr. Slop--and boasts one of the most innovative and whimsical narrative styles in all literature. A... read more »
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Uneasy Money P. G. Wodehouse
For William, Lord Dawlish, it seemed the realization of his dreams. He could marry the girl he loved. Of course, things are not quite so simple. The famous Wodehouse humour, which has no equal, sees to that, in a transatlantic cocktail of breathtaking ingenuity. read more »
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