
The collection opens with a nostalgic recollection of a stern, spectacled schoolmaster whose booming question—“Now, then, any further foolishness?”—sets the tone for a series of playful jabs at the absurdities of everyday life. The narrator treats the reader as a fellow conspirator, inviting us to share in the mischief. From the start, the humor feels both gentle and sharply observant.
Inside, you’ll find a parody of the classic detective story, where a gumshoe solves a murder simply by plucking a single hair from a corpse and hunting down the bald suspect. Another sketch compresses an entire Anglo‑Saxon epic into a single, absurd page, while a third reduces a sprawling life‑story to a handful of terse lines, lampooning the modern appetite for ever‑shorter narratives. Each piece skewers literary pretensions with wit that is as concise as it is clever.
The tone remains light‑hearted yet incisive, making it an ideal listen for anyone who enjoys clever satire that both amuses and prompts a smile at our own foibles. Its brisk pacing and sharp observations keep the listener engaged from start to finish.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (265K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan. HTML file produced by David Widger
Release date
2004-03-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1869–1944
Best known for sharp, warmhearted comic writing, this Canadian author and professor turned everyday life, politics, and small-town manners into enduring satire. His humor is light on its feet but often carries a serious edge beneath the laughs.
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