Over the Plum Pudding

In Short

This collection of humorous short stories blends spectral comedy, social satire, and playful absurdity across urban and folkloric settings. From a forgotten detective rediscovering his identity through a Christmas turkey to persistent ghosts interfering with college exams and sea voyages, the narratives invert standard Gothic and domestic tropes. Through conversational storytelling, frame narratives, and improbable logic, the book pokes fun at turn-of-the-century social customs, literary trends, commercialism, and human vanity. It remains a lighthearted example of early American popular humor, capturing the whimsical tastes and high-spirited periodical style of its era.

The Story

The volume opens with a frameset framing several eccentric tales. In the title narrative's lost manuscripts, readers encounter a resurrected detective named Higgins who suffers from amnesia following a fall into a Tyrolese ravine. While dining at a lavish Christmas feast at Nice, he deduces his peculiar tastes and ultimately discovers a lost diamond brooch inside a turkey gizzard. The event convinces him that he must be none other than Sherlock Holmes, prompting his immediate departure for London to seek verification from Dr. Watson.

Domestic life takes a phantom turn in tales of ghostly interference. One household receives an astonishing array of holiday gifts from an apparition named Old Bills, who bestows a model steam yacht, cables of pearls, real-ink toy armies, and mini opera houses with wax prime donne upon a family. Elsewhere, a struggling college student named Jack Parley attempts to study for his examinations when he is interrupted by an invisible entity. Parley smashes his chair cushion with a stick to prove the presence of the apparition, only to be admonished by the ghost of Billie Watkins for his impetuousness and lack of faith in the unseen. After exchanging grievances, the spirit departs, leaving Parley to face his exams with a new appreciation for the commonalities between youth and elders.

A quieter, reflective note is struck in the story of Jack Chetwood, a worn-out writer who drafts an unmailed letter warning himself against the social pressure of lavish Christmas giving. Despite acknowledging that overextending one's finances to appear generous is a form of snobbery, he tears up the letter, resigning himself to the festive epidemic of giving anyway.

The narrative shifts to futuristic and satirical realms in a tale where a man named Dawson wakes to find himself disembodied. His valet explains that gentlemen of status maintain multiple physical bodies for different occasions, such as golf or evening wear. Exploring this projected future world, Dawson learns that Calcutta has become the capital of the British Empire, London has shrunk to an obscure town of twenty million tailors, and New York extends to the borders of neighboring states while wheelmen ride through space on balloon tires.

The final section shifts toward European folklore and marine tall tales set in the fictional town of Schnitzelhammerstein-on-the-Zugvitz. Hans Pumpernickel, a clever young man who serves the local Mayor by matching ribbons and drafting political vetoes, recounts local legends. He explains the peculiar laughing affliction of Baron Humpfelhimmel, whose ancestor was cursed by a magician for laughing at his own jokes. Hans also details how three local fiddlers accidentally created the "music of the future" by playing three entirely different compositions simultaneously before a visiting King, and how Fritz the wizard built a fortune by renting out the light of a hidden diamond inside a lantern. The collection concludes with a sea captain's floating message in a water bottle, detailing how his ship, the Gretchen B., was haunted by the ghost of pirate Von Rotterdaam, who tried to entice the crew with tales of hidden treasure as the vessel slowly sank beneath the waves.

How It Unfolds

The detective's epiphany A man living under the name Higgins attends a Christmas dinner while searching for clues to his lost identity. Upon finding a diamond brooch hidden within a turkey gizzard, he concludes he is Sherlock Holmes and immediately sets out for London to consult Dr. Watson.

The phantom benefactor Old Bills, an obliging ghost, showers a family with lavish Christmas presents, including a full-sized steam yacht waiting at the shipyard, pearl cables, and intricate automated miniature war toys that bleed red ink.

The exam room haunting Jack Parley argues with an invisible ghost sitting in his room, striking the chair with a stick and ruining the cushion. The spirit of Billie Watkins scolds the student for his hot temper and offers a lesson on mutual understanding across generations.

The unmailed Christmas warning Author Jack Chetwood writes a stern letter condemning the reckless financial ruin caused by holiday gift-giving. He then tears the letter up, admitting he lacks the strength to resist the festive spirit of his era.

A vision of the future Dawson awakens without a physical body and learns from his valet that people in the future keep separate bodies for different activities. He discovers a world where Calcutta is the British capital and cities span whole regions.

Folklore of Schnitzelhammerstein Hans Pumpernickel assists the Mayor while sharing local absurdities, including three fiddlers whose simultaneous playing of different tunes is praised by a King as a masterpiece of original modern music.

The pirate's last log A captain writes his final log entry from inside a sinking ship cabin, recording how the ghost of pirate Von Rotterdaam haunted his crew with promises of buried treasure until the sea rushed into the hold.

The People

• Higgins / Sherlock Holmes: A man suffering from amnesia after falling off a cliff, who uses his unique tastes and an improbable discovery in a turkey gizzard to deduce his true identity as the famed detective.
• Jack Parley: A hasty college student worried about failing his upcoming examinations. He strikes out at an invisible presence in his room, only to receive advice from a ghost regarding patience and respect across generations.
• Billie Watkins's Ghost: An invisible spectral visitor who enters Parley's room to help him, scolding the young man for his impetuous behavior and his refusal to believe in things he cannot see.
• Jack Chetwood: An exhausted author who writes continuously to keep up with financial demands. He understands the absurdity of holiday overspending but surrenders to the festive expectations of society anyway.
• Dawson: A traveler who finds himself adrift in a future era where physical bodies are swapped like wardrobe items and global geography has been completely restructured.
• Hans Pumpernickel: A pragmatic, logical youth who becomes the adopted right-hand man to the Mayor of Schnitzelhammerstein-on-the-Zugvitz, performing civic and household tasks with equal thoroughness.
• Baron Humpfelhimmel: A nobleman afflicted with uncontrollable fits of laughter even when experiencing severe physical pain, bearing the weight of an ancestral curse earned by laughing at one's own jokes.

In Its Own Voice

"The finding of this diamond brooch in a turkey gizzard convinces me that I am Sherlock Holmes."

Higgins announces his sudden realization to his fellow dinner guests before rushing off to take the train to London.

"'Don't you think I'm bothered enough by the prospect of a beautiful flunk at my exams, without your trickling in through the doorway to exasperate me?'"

Jack Parley complains to the unseen spirit sitting in his chair after accidentally ruining his own furniture cushion.

"'The man who gives more than he has a right to give is a thief in the eyes of conscience, and, worse than that, he is a snob, and a mean one at that.'"

Jack Chetwood reads aloud from the draft of a letter he wrote to himself criticizing the pressures of holiday spending.

What It's Really About

The stories examine the absurdities of turn-of-the-century social expectations, economic pressures, and cultural fads. Through playful supernatural encounters and exaggerated satire, the narrative questions the human tendency to prioritize appearance over substance. Jack Chetwood's dilemma exposes how holiday gift-giving transforms from a gesture of goodwill into a competitive financial burden driven by social conformity. Meanwhile, the tales of spectral visitors and futuristic body-swapping poke fun at the growing fascination with consumerism, technology, and popular genre fiction. Underneath the whimsical plots lies a recurring interest in the gap between high-minded pretension and basic human nature, suggesting that whether dealing with 19th-century etiquette or futuristic marvels, people remain subject to the same old eccentricities.

Why Read It Today

This collection appeals to readers who enjoy period humor, light fantasy, and vintage literary parody. It offers a window into the popular magazine culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, capturing the era's lighthearted fascination with ghost stories and speculative tropes. The prose moves with a relaxed, conversational rhythm, relying on witty dialogue and inversion of standard gothic or sci-fi premises rather than heavy suspense.

Modern readers should be prepared for the episodic, light-touch nature of the collection, as it functions as a series of standalone sketches rather than a single continuous novel. The humor reflects the period's fondness for casual tall tales, local-color regional tropes, and exaggerated satirical setups. While the cultural references and mild social caricatures belong distinctly to their original era, the underlying ribbing of literary cliches, social climbing, and holiday stress feels familiar, making it an entertaining pick for fans of classic American humorists.