author
John Kendrick Bangs
1862–1922
Best known for witty, imaginative tales that helped inspire what later came to be called "Bangsian fantasy," this American humorist brought the afterlife, satire, and literary playfulness together in a way that still feels fresh. He also built a notable career as an editor and magazine writer during the lively print culture of the late 19th century.
40 Audiobooks
The Water Ghost and Others
by John Kendrick Bangs
R. Holmes & Co. Being the Remarkable Adventures of Raffles Holmes, Esq., Detective and Amateur Cracksman by Birth
by John Kendrick Bangs
Alice in Blunderland: An Iridescent Dream
by John Kendrick Bangs
Ghosts I Have Met and Some Others
by John Kendrick Bangs
Mollie and the Unwiseman Abroad
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors
by William Dean Howells, Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, John Kendrick Bangs, Alice Brown, Mary Stewart Cutting, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, Henry James, Elizabeth Garver Jordan, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Henry Van Dyke, Mary Heaton Vorse, Edith Wyatt
Olympian Nights
by John Kendrick Bangs
Toppleton's Client; Or, A Spirit in Exile
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Booming of Acre Hill, and Other Reminiscences of Urban and Suburban Life
by John Kendrick Bangs
Coffee and Repartee
by John Kendrick Bangs
A Little Book of Christmas
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Idiot at Home
by John Kendrick Bangs
A Rebellious Heroine
by John Kendrick Bangs
Mr. Munchausen Being a True Account of Some of the Recent Adventures beyond the Styx of the Late Hieronymus Carl Friedrich, Sometime Baron Munchausen of Bodenwerder
by John Kendrick Bangs
A House-Boat on the Styx
by John Kendrick Bangs
Andiron Tales
by John Kendrick Bangs
In Camp With A Tin Soldier
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces
by John Kendrick Bangs
Half-Hours with the Idiot
by John Kendrick Bangs
Paste Jewels
by John Kendrick Bangs
Half-Hours with Jimmieboy
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Pursuit of the House-Boat
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Pursuit of the House-Boat Being Some Further Account of the Divers Doings of the Associated Shades, under the Leadership of Sherlock Holmes, Esq.
by John Kendrick Bangs
Peeps at People Being Certain Papers from the Writings of Anne Warrington Witherup
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Enchanted Typewriter
by John Kendrick Bangs
A Proposal Under Difficulties: A Farce
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Autobiography of Methuselah
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Inventions of the Idiot
by John Kendrick Bangs
Mollie and the Unwiseman
by John Kendrick Bangs
Bikey the Skicycle and Other Tales of Jimmieboy
by John Kendrick Bangs
Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica
by John Kendrick Bangs
Cobwebs from a Library Corner
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Idiot
by John Kendrick Bangs
Mrs. Raffles: Being the Adventures of an Amateur Crackswoman
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Dreamers: A Club
by John Kendrick Bangs
Over the Plum Pudding
by John Kendrick Bangs
From Pillar to Post: Leaves from a Lecturer's Note-Book
by John Kendrick Bangs
Jack and the Check Book
by John Kendrick Bangs
The Genial Idiot: His Views and Reviews
by John Kendrick Bangs
Eight brand new bits of Christmas cheer
by John Kendrick Bangs
About the author
Born in Yonkers, New York, on May 27, 1862, John Kendrick Bangs studied at Columbia University and went on to become a writer, humorist, editor, and satirist. He worked in journalism and magazine publishing, including editorial roles connected with Life, Harper's Bazaar, and Puck, while steadily building a reputation for clever, polished comic writing.
Bangs is especially remembered for humorous fantasy set in the afterlife, a style later named "Bangsian fantasy" after him. Books such as A House-Boat on the Styx helped define that approach, mixing famous historical and literary figures with light, inventive satire.
He wrote across forms—stories, essays, poetry, and plays—and was one of the best-known American humorists of his era. Bangs died on January 21, 1922, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but his work still stands out for its easy charm, comic imagination, and love of playful literary ideas.