Humor Classics

One of the greatest satires in American literature, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court begins when Hank Morgan, a skilled mechanic in a nineteenth-century New England arms factory, who is struck on the head during a quarrel and awakens to find himself among the knights and magicians of King Arthur's Camelot. The 'Yankee' vows brashly to "boss the whole country inside of three weeks" and embarks on an ambitious plan to modernize Camelot with 19th century industrial inventions.

Three Men in a Boat is one of the most popular and enduring comic novels of any age, and remains as fresh and witty as ever: Narrator "J", and friends George and Harris, diagnose themselves to be suffering from "overwork", and resolve that they, along with J's anarchistic fox terrier, Montmorency, will take a boating holiday up the River Thames, from Kingston-upon-Thames to Oxford. The story describes the incidents of their river journey, along with a multitude of humorous digressions and anecdotes, and musings upon the historical associations of passing towns and landmarks.

The Brass Bottle is the story of an architect who bought an antique brass bottle to give to a professor dealing in Mideast antiquities. After the purchase, the architect’s curiosity was aroused, and he removed the stopper in the bottle. And when he did, a big cloud of smoke was released, producing a major surprise when a genie emerged. His name was Fakrash el-Aamash, and he turned out to be a fairy-tale-type character who wound up trying to repay the architect, Horace Ventimore, for giving him release from what amounted to a brass prison.

Роман "Шутка мецената" написанный в 1923 г. и изданный в Праге в 1925 г., уже после кончины писателя стал последней работой Аркадия Тимофеевича Аверченко. Это одновременно и веселая и грустная книга пронизана глубокой ностальгией по милой сердцу автора беззаботной богемной петербургской жизни.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio - including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos ‘N’ Andy Show, Philip Marlowe, The Green Hornet, X Minus One, Sherlock Holmes and many others. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including: Jack Benny, Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye, Groucho Marx, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Jim and Marian Jordan, Hal Peary, Eve Arden, George Burns, Gracie Allen and many more.

A most unusual request for insurance was made to Lloyds of London. It was outre enough to bring on what can best be described as something of “improbable dimensions.” The request was made by a young Brirtish Lord. He was engaged to an American heiress and was worried she might back out. An added part of the story is a guarantee there would be a sizeable payout if the ceremony stalls. The story of same can easily be called a delightful romantic comedy and it wouldn’t be surprising if you laugh out loud, or at least chuckle frequently.

Трое приятелей—Джи, Харрис и Джордж,—устав от праздного безделья и желая поправить своё «пошатнувшееся» здоровье, решают отправиться в путешествие на лодке по Темзе. Вместе с собой они взяли фокстерьера Монморанси.

Bertie’s friends are stepping it up. In order to de-sticky their wickets, they are asking him to impersonate themselves to country relatives, adopt a wayward infant, and even steal a marginally libelous manuscript. And to top it all off, Jeeves himself details his surreptitious plans for the young master to make an impromptu speech at a girl’s school. What’s a spirited cove to do?

An early 20th century American story written in the Theodore Dreiser style of each word and chapter building on the previous ones, telling the saga of evangelical religion & people with irony throughout.

An early 20th century American story written in the Theodore Dreiser style of each word and chapter building on the previous ones, telling the saga of evangelical religion & people with irony throughout.

Mit dem Humor ist es ja so eine Sache. Jeder meint, ihn zu besitzen und beweist oft kläglich das Gegenteil...

"This is a history and not a glorification of Mr. Polly, and I tell of things as they were with him.” So writes H.G Wells toward the end of his story of Mr. Polly, and indeed, the narrator’s voice throughout the book leaves us altogether ambivalent about his protagonist. The diminutive Everyman of the story is neither fully hero nor villain.

E se in una tiepida notte di luna piena vi capitasse di incontrare Satana? È questo quello che accade a due esimi letterati moscoviti e purtroppo per loro, l'incontro significherà dolore e morte. Non saranno gli unici ad avere a che fare con il signore del male e il suo seguito di demoni. Lo strano e pericolosissimo gruppetto si fermerà infatti alcuni giorni a Mosca, provocando catastrofi e sconvolgimenti a tutte le persone che avranno la sventura di incontrarli, ma darà vita anche a situazioni esilaranti al limite dell'assurdo, descritte con una straordinaria comicità.

P. G. Wodehouse gives us a delightful romantic comedy of two struggling artists who fantastically misunderstand each other.

In this collection, P.G. Wodehouse - the master of 20th-century humor - presents 10 of his most celebrated stories about the perpetually befuddled Bertie Wooster and his knight-in-shining-tuxedo Jeeves. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories have long been hailed as the most entertaining and hilarious short fiction ever written and Wodehouse holds a special place in literary history as history's premier English humorist. In this collection, Bertie pinballs from crisis to crisis but, as always, his faithful manservant Jeeves is there to bail him out.

O. Henry dépeint ici, avec l'humour et l'empathie pour lesquels il est connu, New York au début du vingtième siècle et ses petites gens.

Entranced by romantic tales of heroism and chivalry, Don Quixote—self-proclaimed knight errant—embarks on a delusional quest for fame and adventure. The eccentric Spanish country gentleman and his companion Sancho encounter an array of unforgettable characters and undertake some of the most famously foolhardy exploits in literature. Listeners will delight in following their chivalrous misadventures to right wrongs and punish evil in this timeless, laugh-out-loud tale.

Die Handlung der Novelle spielt in der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts in Deutschland. Der Ich-Erzähler, wohl Hauffs Alter Ego, verpflichtet sich, die Memoiren Satans herauszugeben, damit seine Seele verschont werde. Wo und in welcher Gesellschaft sich Gottes Ewiger Widersacher in Deutschland tummelt, soll hier nicht ausführlich verraten werden, aber seine bissige Sicht auf den akademischen Betrieb deutscher Universitäten, die nationalistische Geheimbündelei der Burschenschaften, des Militärs und der Philister wären auch heute noch ein Leckerbissen für jeden scharfzüngigen Satiriker.

The perhaps greatest and extensive collection of humor ever published.

Has Jeeves finally lost his grip? Wealthy, scatterbrained Bertie Wooster—with the aid of his ever-faithful butler, Jeeves—attempts to romantically link dreamy, soulful Gussie Fink-Nottle with soppy, sweet Madeline Bassett. But as soon as Bertie takes Gussie and Madeline's love connection into his own hands, things go disastrously wrong! Fortunately, Jeeves steps in to set matters straight. But the characters must endure tangled layers of comedic complications before they reach the invariably clever and satisfying finale.