author

John Kendrick Bangs

1862–1922

A witty American humorist and editor, he turned ghosts, celebrities, and the afterlife into playgrounds for clever satire. His light, imaginative style became so distinctive that an entire kind of fantasy comedy came to be called "Bangsian" fantasy.

40 Audiobooks

The Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors

by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews, John Kendrick Bangs, Alice Brown, Mary Stewart Cutting, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, Henry James, Elizabeth Garver Jordan, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Henry Van Dyke, Mary Heaton Vorse, Edith Wyatt

Mr. Munchausen

by John Kendrick Bangs

Alice in Blunderland: An Iridescent Dream

by John Kendrick Bangs

A House-Boat on the Styx

by John Kendrick Bangs

Coffee and Repartee

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Pursuit of the House-Boat

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Idiot

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Idiot at Home

by John Kendrick Bangs

R. Holmes & Co.

by John Kendrick Bangs

Half-Hours with the Idiot

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Autobiography of Methuselah

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Genial Idiot: His Views and Reviews

by John Kendrick Bangs

A Little Book of Christmas

by John Kendrick Bangs

Jack and the Check Book

by John Kendrick Bangs

Bikey the Skicycle and Other Tales of Jimmieboy

by John Kendrick Bangs

From Pillar to Post: Leaves from a Lecturer's Note-Book

by John Kendrick Bangs

Half-Hours with Jimmieboy

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Dreamers: A Club

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Enchanted Typewriter

by John Kendrick Bangs

Mrs. Raffles: Being the Adventures of an Amateur Crackswoman

by John Kendrick Bangs

Eight brand new bits of Christmas cheer

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Inventions of the Idiot

by John Kendrick Bangs

Peeps at People

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Pursuit of the House-Boat

by John Kendrick Bangs

Ghosts I Have Met and Some Others

by John Kendrick Bangs

Olympian Nights

by John Kendrick Bangs

Toppleton's Client; Or, A Spirit in Exile

by John Kendrick Bangs

Andiron Tales

by John Kendrick Bangs

Cobwebs from a Library Corner

by John Kendrick Bangs

Mollie and the Unwiseman Abroad

by John Kendrick Bangs

In Camp With A Tin Soldier

by John Kendrick Bangs

Mollie and the Unwiseman

by John Kendrick Bangs

Over the Plum Pudding

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Water Ghost and Others

by John Kendrick Bangs

The Booming of Acre Hill, and Other Reminiscences of Urban and Suburban Life

by John Kendrick Bangs

Paste Jewels

by John Kendrick Bangs

A Rebellious Heroine

by John Kendrick Bangs

A Proposal Under Difficulties: A Farce

by John Kendrick Bangs

Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica

by John Kendrick Bangs

About the author

Born in Yonkers, New York, in 1862, John Kendrick Bangs became known as an American author, editor, and humorist whose work mixed polished wit with an easy sense of fun. He attended Columbia College and went on to work in publishing and magazine editing, building a career that moved comfortably between journalism, fiction, and literary satire.

Bangs is especially remembered for comic stories that place famous historical figures or ordinary people in absurd supernatural settings, often in the afterlife. His playful approach was so influential that the term "Bangsian fantasy" came to describe stories set in the hereafter and filled with recognizable real-world characters.

Along with writing novels, short stories, and verse, he edited prominent magazines and became a familiar literary voice of his time. He died in 1922, but his work still stands out for its charm, imagination, and talent for making the fantastic feel cheerfully human.