Free summaries
Humour — page 4
605 public-domain humour books, summarised. Page 4 of 13.
On an Irish Jaunting-Car Through Donegal and Connemara
Samuel G. (Samuel Gamble) Bayne
This personal account of a journey through the Irish countryside offers a vivid, old-fashioned window into a landscape defined by its rugged beauty, ancient history, and the resilient spirit of its people. It serves as both a travelogue and a nostalgic meditation on a land the author calls his birthplace.
Dynamite Stories, and Some Interesting Facts About Explosives
Hudson Maxim
A stick of dynamite is just inert clay until someone forgets where they put it, thaws it on a stove, or hits it with a hammer.
Gallery of Comicalities
Robert Seymour
This collection acts as a boisterous, satirical mirror to early 19th-century London, capturing the frantic energy, social inequities, and dark humor of an era defined by its rapid industrial and urban evolution.
Mr. Poskitt's Nightcaps: Stories of a Yorkshire Farmer
J. S. (Joseph Smith) Fletcher
A cozy fireplace, a glass of toddy, and a host who knows every secret in the valley set the scene for these quiet, surprising tales of rural life.
The Little Man: A Farcical Morality in Three Scenes
John Galsworthy
A sudden flurry on a train platform leaves a modest traveller holding a stranger's child, turning an everyday journey into a sharp, comic test of human decency.
Mr. Punch at Home: The Comic Side of Domestic Life
Unknown
This collection of wit and caricature offers a fractured, funny window into the rigid hierarchies and absurd pretensions of the Victorian and Edwardian domestic interior. It captures the eternal friction between those who run the house and those who staff it.
Funny stories told by the soldiers
Carleton B. (Carleton Britton) Case
Military absurdity, absurd miscommunications, and quick-witted insubordination fill a relief-seeking collection gathered right as the First World War drew to a close.
The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (November 1912): Vol. LXXXV: New Series Vol. LXIII, November 1912 to April 1913
Unknown
This collection of essays, fiction, and commentary serves as a time capsule, capturing the political anxieties, social mores, and cultural fascinations of the American public on the eve of the First World War.
Jeppe on the Hill
Ludvig Holberg
A humble, perpetually inebriated peasant finds himself plucked from a dungheap and placed in a baron’s bed, sparking a cruel, transformative comedy about power, status, and the desperate search for dignity.
License to Steal
Louis Newman
A simple misunderstanding leads to a galaxy-spanning legal odyssey when an extraterrestrial visitor takes a human figure of speech far too literally. This witty satire explores the absurdities of law, culture, and the unintended consequences of playing jokes on strangers.
The Love Sonnets of a Car Conductor
Wallace Irwin
A street-car conductor finds his muse in the jarring, rattling environment of a Sixth Avenue trolley, capturing the dizzying rush of falling in love through the slang-heavy cadence of the city. This collection of sonnets serves as a rhythmic, irreverent diary of a working-class romantic navigating the daily grind…
Fish Stories
Henry Abbott
These are not the tall tales of a braggart, but the quiet, observational accounts of a woodsman who finds that the truth of the wilderness is far stranger than any fiction.
As Seen By Me
Lilian Bell
An American woman’s spirited, observational account of a two-year journey across Europe, Russia, and Egypt. It captures the charm and exasperation of travel at the turn of the century with wit and distinct personality.
Don't Shoot
Robert Zacks
An obsessed scientist confesses his role in a bizarre transformation, revealing that the legendary Abominable Snowman is actually a missing Hollywood mogul sent to the Himalayas by a malfunctioning matter-transmitter.
One Man's Poison
Robert Sheckley
Two starving space travelers land on a desolate, spined planet and stumble into an alien warehouse, only to discover that their survival depends on deciphering the lethal—and often absurd—labels of an extinct civilization.
Niobe, All Smiles: A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts
Harry Paulton
A Victorian household is thrown into comic chaos when a priceless Greek statue comes to life and insists on being treated like a member of the family.
Puzzles and oddities
Unknown
A collection of nineteenth-century diversions, this volume serves as a parlor guide to the wit, wordplay, and intellectual games that once occupied the idle hours of a bygone era.
The humour of Holland
Alice Werner
Dutch wit reveals itself not in singular, explosive guises, but through a steady, observant irony that delights in the small discrepancies of life. It is a collection of cultural character studies, gathered to bridge the distance between the English-speaking reader and the Dutch literary spirit.
Letters from High Latitudes: Being Some Account of a Voyage in 1856 of the Schooner Yacht "Foam" to Iceland, Jan Meyen, and Spitzbergen
Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Temple Blackwood, Marquis of
A sudden telegram shatters a hopeful departure, yet launches a magnificent northern odyssey across storm-tossed seas, ancient ice-fields, and silent polar solitudes.
Poems for Pale People: A Volume of Verse
Edwin Carty Ranck
A playful, unpretentious journey through the lighthearted landscapes of turn-of-the-century American verse, where absurdity, nostalgia, and everyday humor intermingle freely.
The Humourous Story of Farmer Bumpkin's Lawsuit
Richard Harris
Litigation turns a dispute over a pig into a vortex of legal fees that consumes a farmer's entire life.
Apparitions
Joseph Taylor
Shadows in dark hallways often turn out to be nothing more than hanging coats or wandering livestock when examined closely.
Fables for the Frivolous
Guy Wetmore Carryl
Clever beasts and foolish men clash in rhyme, only to discover that the punchline always cuts deeper than the lesson.
Puck on Pegasus: Fourth Edition
H. (Henry) Cholmondeley-Pennell
A mischievous sprite in verse, this collection dances between sharp-witted satire and moments of genuine, somber reflection. It captures the frantic, soot-stained energy of the Victorian age with equal parts cynicism and elegance.
The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty (Thomas Jones, Esq.),: Commonly known as the Welsh Robin Hood
T. J. Llewelyn (Thomas Jeffery Llewelyn) Prichard
A mischievous, legendary Welsh trickster navigates poverty and social injustice, constantly outwitting the arrogant and powerful through his sharp wits and a series of relentless, hilarious practical jokes.
The Foolish Almanak for Anuthur Year: The Furst Cinc the Introdukshun ov the Muk-rake in Magazeen Gardning, and the Speling Reform ov Owr Langwij by Theodor Rosyfelt
Various
HOOK This satirical almanac delivers a cynical, sharp-witted snapshot of American life in 1906, mocking everything from political scandals and social trends to the very language used to describe them.
Mr. Punch's Country Life: Humours of Our Rustics
Unknown
This collection of wit and observations captures the eccentric spirit of rural England, where simple life meets sharp tongues and dry humor. It offers a glimpse into a vanished world through the eyes of classic illustrators and sharp-witted writers.
The Glugs of Gosh
C. J. (Clarence James) Dennis
To find the land of Gosh, one must know the secret paths, avoid the watchful gaze of officialdom, and possess a heart willing to trade worldly ambition for the simple wisdom of a tinker.
The Mimic Stage: A Series of Dramas, Comedies, Burlesques, and Farces for Public Exhibitions and Private Theatricals
George M. (George Melville) Baker
This collection of amateur plays serves as a practical, charming toolkit for nineteenth-century parlors, offering modest scripts that turn any living room into a stage.
The Silly Syclopedia: A Terrible Thing in the Form of a Literary Torpedo which is Launched for Hilarious Purposes Only Inaccurate in Every Particular Containing Copious Etymological Derivations and Other Useless Things
George V. (George Vere) Hobart
A satirical dictionary for the weary soul, this work treats the burdens of modern life with absurd definitions and mock-practical advice, ensuring that no subject—from breakfast food to baseball—remains un-torpedoed.
The First Distiller
Tolstoy, Leo, graf
A simple peasant is tempted by a demon who discovers that abundance, not scarcity, is the true path to human ruin. This morality play serves as a piercing, dark fable on the corruption of the soul through excess.
The Punster's Pocket-book
C. M. (Charles Molloy) Westmacott
This exuberant collection serves as a nineteenth-century manifesto for the art of the pun, treating wordplay not as a low-brow annoyance, but as a sophisticated hallmark of a truly nimble and educated mind.
The Torch-Bearers: A Satirical Comedy in Three Acts
George Kelly
A suburban husband returns home to find his wife has been swept into the chaotic, self-important world of amateur theater. He soon discovers that the most dangerous role his wife plays is the one she performs in their living room.
Playful Poems
Unknown
This collection gathers centuries of verse, bridging the gap between medieval narrative and the sharp, witty storytelling of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It offers a portal into a tradition of rhythmic, playful, and often biting English literature.
Up in Maine: Stories of Yankee Life Told in Verse
Holman Day
Bare-knuckled humor, rustic ironies, and timber-town tragedies converge in a spirited poetic portrait of turn-of-the-century rural New England.
The Story of an Ostrich: An Allegory and Humorous Satire in Rhyme
I. J. Potter
A self-absorbed ostrich attempts to destroy his own feet after mistaking them for alien parasites.
Flaxius
Charles Godfrey Leland
An immortal Etruscan wanders through the centuries, offering sharp-witted counsel to historic figures, demons, and ordinary mortals alike while observing humanity’s slow and unpredictable evolution.
And All the Earth a Grave
C. C. MacApp
A simple accounting glitch triggers a hyper-aggressive advertising campaign that successfully markets coffins as the ultimate luxury item, driving humanity to voluntarily lie down and die.
Southerly Busters
George Herbert Gibson
A collection of colonial wit, this volume captures the rough-and-tumble spirit of late nineteenth-century Australia through satirical verse and prose sketches. It offers a candid, irreverent look at bush life, urban pretension, and the absurdities of the era.
Salmagundi
Washington Irving
This collection of satirical essays serves as a sharp, spirited mirror held up to early 19th-century New York. It blends sophisticated urban observation with a playful, self-deprecating affection for the absurdities of social life.
The Money Box: Odd Craft, Part 1
W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs
Sailors at sea may dream of thrift, but the shore brings a different reality. This story follows two impulsive men who entrust their wages to a "steady" comrade, only to find that good intentions make for a precarious prison.
I'm a Stranger Here Myself
Mack Reynolds
In a city of exiles and fugitives, two strangers share a drink and a casual conversation that strips away the veneer of humanity. This brief encounter reveals the true, chilling nature of their mission on Earth.
Pussy and Her Language
Marvin R. Clark
The cat is a creature of deep intelligence and singular grace, whose silent companionship masks a sophisticated, musical language awaiting human discovery.
Stories of Comedy
Unknown
This collection of nineteenth-century narratives showcases the quick-witted, often absurd, and deeply human spirit of British and Irish storytelling. It invites readers to laugh at the folly of pride and the unpredictability of life.
Sugar Plum
Reginald Bretnor
In a future obsessed with the stuffy rigidity of a second Victorian Age, a wealthy couple flees their stifling Boston life to homestead a distant, forgotten planet. They soon discover that this new world has a way of stripping away their social pretenses.
The spoil'd child: A farce, in two acts, as performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Isaac Bickerstaff
A mischievous boy turns his household upside down with elaborate pranks, only to find that his father’s attempts to discipline him through trickery lead to a chaotic battle of wits.
The Jumble Book of Rhymes: Recited by the Jumbler
Frank R. Heine
This collection of lighthearted, occasional verse captures the spirit of a man navigating the joys and absurdities of early 20th-century American life. It is an unpretentious, conversational work that treats its own lack of high-mindedness as its primary virtue.
More Minor Horrors
Shipley, A. E. (Arthur Everett), Sir
A quiet study of the tiny, persistent creatures that plague human industry, livestock, and health, written with equal parts zoological precision and wry, humane observation.