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...

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.

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...

Laughter Therapy gathers sixty-three classic books of humorous tales into a capacious archive of comic invention, ranging from tall tales, farce, parody, and social satire to domestic comedy, absurdist fantasy, and the gently anarchic children's story. Its selections illuminate humor's power to expose pretension, soften misfortune, and recast everyday life as an arena of surprise. Fantastic adventures, deadpan hoaxes, comic misunderstandings, and sharply observed portraits of provincial, u...

The Adventurer's Library gathers forty-three adventure novels into a capacious panorama of peril, travel, intrigue, imperial encounter, romance, and comic misadventure. Moving from swashbuckling historical narratives and sea tales to lost-world fantasies, detective-inflected pursuits, and frontier exploits, the volume maps the extraordinary elasticity of adventure fiction. Classic chivalric inheritance, popular romance, colonial-era travel writing, and early speculative fiction converge he...

Topper Thorne Smith - Thorne Smith's hilarious and ribald comedy about boring and staid bank manager Cosmo Topper who decides to buy a flashy car only to discover it is haunted by its previous owners, George and Marion Kerby. George's and Marion's mischievous spirits (and a few other ghostly friends and an irresistible dog) make it their mission to lead the respectable Topper astray and give him a fresh outlook on life. Liquor flows, pranks are common, and although not always willing, Geor...

Biltmore Oswald: The Diary of a Hapless Recruit (1918). A series of comic stories written for the Naval Reserve journal The Broadside while Smith was in the Navy.

Elegant, fun-loving George and Marion Kerby are the toast of the town, until they wreck their flashy car and discover they've become, well, ghosts. Making the best of a bad situation, they decide that being dead is the perfect opportunity to liven up staid, stuffy Cosmo Topper. Naturally, much hilarity ensues.

In "Biltmore Oswald," Thorne Smith crafts a satirical romp through the life of an inept but endearing protagonist, Oswald Biltmore, who navigates the chaotic waters of society with a blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit. Adopting a playful narrative style, Smith employs a conversational tone punctuated by absurdity, inviting readers into a world where the boundaries of reality are stretched. Set against the backdrop of the 1920s, the novel employs elements of fantasy and irreverent socia...

Humor is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. People of all ages and cultures respond to humor. Most people are able to experience humor—be amused, smile or laugh at something funny (such as a pun or joke)—and thus are considered to have a sense of humor. Therefore, laughter is good for our well-being because it reduces stress and relieves some physical pain.This book is a special collection of twenty wonderful humorous writings which are going to ...

Hilarious tale of a sailor who can't do anything right.