Cosmo Topper a staid and dull banker with an nagging wife ,who has perpetual indigestion. (She needs Pepto - Bismol)A drastic change happens in his boring life, after buying an old sports car.The auto was previously owned by an irresponsible rich young couple ,who died in it . While driving in the country , he starts seeing things and maybe going a little insane!

Depressed and indifferent heir of a vast coffee import fortune, Peter Van Dyke finds his life and high society engagement turn upside down when his secretary, Josephine Duval, determines that she will rescue him from his horrible fate by ruining him morally. After an amusing scandal involving a nude Peter Van Dyke, Miss Duval and an ill starred burglar in a coat closet, he finds himself cast adrift in a fog with a motley crew that includes a Bishop Waller of the Episcopal Church and a form...

This early work by Thorne Smith was originally published in 1942 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Passionate Witch' was James Thorne Smith Jr.'s last novel and was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1934, it was finally finished by Norman Matson. Mr. T. Wallace Wooly is a rich, sober, upstanding member of the community who lives a calm, frugal life after the death of his wife. This comfortable existence is ruined by a meeting with Jennif...

The Jazz Age comedy of manners about a straitlaced banker and two bon vivant ghosts that inspired the classic film starring Cary Grant.Bank manager Cosmo Topper has settled into a stable, respectable, and thoroughly boring life. In need of a little adventure, he decides to buy a secondhand car—a detail he neglects to tell his staid wife, Mary. But Topper's little secret turns into an unexpectedly wild ride when he discovers the automobile is haunted by its previous...

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Thorne Smith Reader: Nine Novels by Thorne SmithThis collection includes some of Thorne Smith's greatest works    Topper: The Jovial Ghosts (1926)    The Stray Lamb (1929)    Turnabout (1931)    The Night Life of the Gods (1931)    Topper Takes a Trip (1932)    The Bishop's Jaegers (1932)    Rain in the Doorway (1933)    Skin and Bones (1933)    The Glorious Pool (1934)Thorne Smith was a fantastic fantasy fiction writer who sold millions of paperbacks in the early twentieth century. He wa...

Rebecca works hard to maintain a perfect life for her family. She keeps a pristine house and follows every one of her mother-in-law's rules to live by, such as always putting her husband's needs above her own and avoiding tight leggings-or, as Charlotte refers to them-lady parts pants. But even Rebecca's well-tailored slacks can't protect her when Paul comes home and announces that he's fallen in love with another woman. Shocked and devastated, she turns to the funny, authentic women of Yo...

The novel likely follows the misadventures of the titular character, Biltmore Oswald, as he navigates various humorous situations and eccentric characters. Oswald is often portrayed as a bumbling and hapless protagonist who finds himself in absurd and comical predicaments.Thorne Smith's writing style in "Biltmore Oswald" is characterized by its irreverent humor, witty dialogue, and imaginative scenarios. Through Oswald's escapades, Smith may satirize various aspects of society and poke fun...

One of Thorne Smith's better outings. When a scientist pairs up with a witch with the ability to bring statues to life, chaos ensues. The two decide it would be a good idea to bring the statues of the gods at the Metropolitan Museum to life. But the gods, it turns out, are too human by half -- they immediately start to cavort, bicker, drink, and carry on in a spree of epic proportions.

What a situation -- a photographer keeps changing into a skeleton which puts him into all kinds of wild Jazz Age troubles including scaring all the patrons out of a speakeasy. Strangely fun.

The premise of Turnabout involves a husband and wife body switch, executed by means so trivial that even the author barely spends any time justifying it. The comic results, however, are snicker-out-loud funny, as the pair stretch and snap their gender roles to lengths greater than Silly Putty itself could bear. Sure, the effort is lightweight, but who really cares when Smith's effortless style elicits so many belly laughs?

Hysterical romp about a man who cahnges into verious animals sort of randomly and has , as might be expected, strange adventures.