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The Oxford Book of Humorous Prose: From William Caxton to P. G. Wodehouse: A Conducted Tour
Focusing primarily on the 19th and 20th century, but with material dating back to Columbus, this volume is packed with an amazing range of comic material is--from the gentle, charming comedy of manners, to biting satire, to outrageous parody.
There are excerpts from the novels of Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse and Mark Twain, complete short stories by O. Henry and Frank O'Connor, classic tall tales from Australia, passages from Groucho Marx's correspondence with Warner Brothers, a selection of Samuel Johnson's comic definitions, plus a sprinkling of egregious puns and witty sayings. Muir has gathered work from over two hundred writers and from every English-speaking country. Virtually all of your favorites are Jonathan Swift, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Laurence Sterne, Anita Loos, Dorothy Parker, S.J. Perelman, Damon Runyon, Fran Lebowitz, Joseph Heller, Evelyn Waugh, Garrison Keilor, Erma Bombeck, Tom Wolfe, and countless others. In addition, there are comic pieces from writers you wouldn't expect to find--such as Thomas Hardy or Lawrence Durrell--and many writers you may not have discovered yet.
There are excerpts from the novels of Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse and Mark Twain, complete short stories by O. Henry and Frank O'Connor, classic tall tales from Australia, passages from Groucho Marx's correspondence with Warner Brothers, a selection of Samuel Johnson's comic definitions, plus a sprinkling of egregious puns and witty sayings. Muir has gathered work from over two hundred writers and from every English-speaking country. Virtually all of your favorites are Jonathan Swift, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Laurence Sterne, Anita Loos, Dorothy Parker, S.J. Perelman, Damon Runyon, Fran Lebowitz, Joseph Heller, Evelyn Waugh, Garrison Keilor, Erma Bombeck, Tom Wolfe, and countless others. In addition, there are comic pieces from writers you wouldn't expect to find--such as Thomas Hardy or Lawrence Durrell--and many writers you may not have discovered yet.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
16 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Frank Muir
68 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy screenwriter and radio and television personality. From 1977 on he also wrote children's books based on his family dog, What-a-Mess. In 1997 he published his autobiography.
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy screenwriter and radio and television personality. From 1977 on he also wrote children's books based on his family dog, What-a-Mess. In 1997 he published his autobiography.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 17, 2008
This is a vast book, the kind that makes my wrists ache, and yet I dip into it from time to time for some remembered tidbit. All the greats are here, and a few unexpected writers not normally classed as humorists. The humor is of the literary rather than the 'ha-ha' sort. There are, for example, excerpts from Ulysses and Cranford, but then alongside these are selections from books more commonly regarded as humorous, such Catch-22 or Cold Comfort Farm. It's an excellent place to scout for writers one might not encounter otherwise, too. As I look through the table of contents, I note how many of these works I've read in their entirety (for although there are many short stories and the occasional poem, the selections are often taken from full-length books).
Running to some eleven hundred pages, it could well suffice as a desert island book. It encompasses five hundred years of prose written originally in English, and ends, most suitably, with an ample selection of P.G. Wodehouse.
Running to some eleven hundred pages, it could well suffice as a desert island book. It encompasses five hundred years of prose written originally in English, and ends, most suitably, with an ample selection of P.G. Wodehouse.
March 26, 2009
This really is an extraordinary volume. In the UK, Frank Muir (d.1998) was a much-loved character latterly famous as an urbane and witty radio and television performer on quiz shows, but remembered too as a comic writer who co-authored the ground-breaking radio comedy Take It From Here, which incorporate the splendidly awful radio soap-opera,The Glums.
This book reveals a new Frank Muir, a man of considerable erudition, for this is an intelligent selection of comic prose, made all the better by an equally intelligent commentary. Here, one can savour pretty much all of the best comic writers, such as Lewis Carroll, Stella Gibbons, Philip Roth, Damon Runyan, Mark Twain, PG Wodehouse, in total, about 250, most of them famous, but quite a few not at all well-known.
Each of these writers is provided with a short, often learned biographical note, followed by one or more gobbets of humorous prose. Unlike dictionaries of quotations, most of these gems are sufficiently lengthy to thwart any reviewer who strives to provide a pithy extract. Their focus is not on the quotable quote, but upon lengthier passages that evoke each writer’s style of writing. The sections are organised roughly in historical sequence, allowing Muir to tell his story as a continuous historical narrative.
The book's only real weakness, it is that it is poised, rather uncertainly, between being a work of reference and one of critical scholarship. I would myself have preferred the authors to have been placed in alphabetical order to make the sections more accessible, but the book works, nonetheless.
There is a delicious piece by Dorothy Parker, for example, depicting a young man’s growing recollection of a disastrous party.
And here are Sellar and Yeatman, waxing historical, on Robin Hood:
Saki is good for quotes:
HL Menkin, is known as an inhabitant of dictionaries of quotations, and there are some nice quotations, but it is also good to read some of his continuous prose. Here, one must put up with a quote:
And then there are surprises: the fact that George Eliot could be humorous; that Johnson’s dictionary was laced with witticisms (not just the one about the lexicographer); and that sixteenth century sermons could be hilarious.
The great joy of the book is that one can look up an unfamiliar author’s name just to get a potted biography and an example of his/her work.. But if that seems an over-earnest approach to comedy, the book can be kept by one’s elbow to be opened at random just to spend five minutes having a sly giggle.
This book reveals a new Frank Muir, a man of considerable erudition, for this is an intelligent selection of comic prose, made all the better by an equally intelligent commentary. Here, one can savour pretty much all of the best comic writers, such as Lewis Carroll, Stella Gibbons, Philip Roth, Damon Runyan, Mark Twain, PG Wodehouse, in total, about 250, most of them famous, but quite a few not at all well-known.
Each of these writers is provided with a short, often learned biographical note, followed by one or more gobbets of humorous prose. Unlike dictionaries of quotations, most of these gems are sufficiently lengthy to thwart any reviewer who strives to provide a pithy extract. Their focus is not on the quotable quote, but upon lengthier passages that evoke each writer’s style of writing. The sections are organised roughly in historical sequence, allowing Muir to tell his story as a continuous historical narrative.
The book's only real weakness, it is that it is poised, rather uncertainly, between being a work of reference and one of critical scholarship. I would myself have preferred the authors to have been placed in alphabetical order to make the sections more accessible, but the book works, nonetheless.
There is a delicious piece by Dorothy Parker, for example, depicting a young man’s growing recollection of a disastrous party.
Was I making a pass at Elinor?” he said, “Did I do that?"
“Of course you didn’t,” she said, “You were only fooling that’s all. She thought you were awfully amusing. She was having a marvellous time. She only got a little tiny bit annoyed just once, when you poured the clam-juice down her back.”. - - -
And here are Sellar and Yeatman, waxing historical, on Robin Hood:
“Amongst his Merrie Men were Will Scarlet (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Black Beauty, White Melville, Little Red Riding Hood (probably an out-daughter of his) and the famous Friar Puck who used to sit in a cowslip and suck bees, thus becoming so fat that he declared he could put his girdle round the Earth.
Saki is good for quotes:
Henry Duplis was by birth a native of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. On maturer reflection, he became a commercial traveller.
Waldo is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.
HL Menkin, is known as an inhabitant of dictionaries of quotations, and there are some nice quotations, but it is also good to read some of his continuous prose. Here, one must put up with a quote:
Puritanism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
Adultery: democracy applied to love
And then there are surprises: the fact that George Eliot could be humorous; that Johnson’s dictionary was laced with witticisms (not just the one about the lexicographer); and that sixteenth century sermons could be hilarious.
The great joy of the book is that one can look up an unfamiliar author’s name just to get a potted biography and an example of his/her work.. But if that seems an over-earnest approach to comedy, the book can be kept by one’s elbow to be opened at random just to spend five minutes having a sly giggle.
July 11, 2016
I recently finished Don DeLillo's latest novel, Zero K - thankfully not for review. Reading this, a gathering of comic writing in English from Caxton to Wodehouse, was an instant tonic.
It's absurd how people assume a piece of prose that raises a laugh should automatically rank below a piece that can't. S.J. Perelman's piece on Hollywood has the dazzling skill of a high modernist with the daring of an acrobat.
James Thurber, E.B. White and other New Yorker stalwarts are present and counted, along with Alan Coren, Keith Waterhouse, Evelyn Waugh and Kingsley Amis among others. (I would have preferred that the bus scene from Lucky Jim had been used rather than Amis's later work, though.) Martin Amis isn't particularly funny at the best of times, least of all in the juvenilia printed here.
It's absurd how people assume a piece of prose that raises a laugh should automatically rank below a piece that can't. S.J. Perelman's piece on Hollywood has the dazzling skill of a high modernist with the daring of an acrobat.
James Thurber, E.B. White and other New Yorker stalwarts are present and counted, along with Alan Coren, Keith Waterhouse, Evelyn Waugh and Kingsley Amis among others. (I would have preferred that the bus scene from Lucky Jim had been used rather than Amis's later work, though.) Martin Amis isn't particularly funny at the best of times, least of all in the juvenilia printed here.
February 17, 2007
*** I own an older edition, so some things may be different ***
The definition of a desert-island book. At over 1000 pages and spanning nearly five centuries, one can find hours of fun reading here. Muir covers all angles from aphorists to novelists, Punch magazine writers to frontier columnists. Nearly everyone who is significant in the history of humor is represented. I can't recommend it enough.
The definition of a desert-island book. At over 1000 pages and spanning nearly five centuries, one can find hours of fun reading here. Muir covers all angles from aphorists to novelists, Punch magazine writers to frontier columnists. Nearly everyone who is significant in the history of humor is represented. I can't recommend it enough.
August 7, 2007
This book is great--snippets from the best humorous prose written in the last several centuries. I like it because I can pick it up and read something short, and put it back down again when I don't have time for reading. It's good to take on trips too.
Want to read
June 14, 2009I bought this book for two dollars at our library's used book sale. What a bargain!
October 13, 2017
An enormous and weighty doorstop of a book, covering humour in the English-speaking world with extracts from various novels, plays, short stories, non-fiction etc. These extracts cover some 500 years of writing, and what really astonished me was how much humour changed over the centuries. I am prepared to believe that the contemporaries of the writers included found them highly amusing, but for my own part giant swathes of this book were deeply, painfully unfunny. (On the bright side, this meant some of the actually funny stood out all the more - I choked with laughter at the Lawrence Durrell section, for instance.) In general things improved as time went on, but give me Bill Bryson any day.
January 25, 2018
I actually read this all the way through, by adopting the strategy of skipping to the end of any bit that got tiresome, and even then, it took a while; but I enjoyed the journey.
The selections of humorous prose are, inevitably, a mixed bag, ranging from dull to dated to decent to delightful. But what makes it all worthwhile is the commentary and biographical/bibliographical notes by Frank Muir with which they are stitched together. You could skip the excerpts altogether and just read Muir's commentary, and get a good and entertaining education in the history of humorous writing in English.
The selections of humorous prose are, inevitably, a mixed bag, ranging from dull to dated to decent to delightful. But what makes it all worthwhile is the commentary and biographical/bibliographical notes by Frank Muir with which they are stitched together. You could skip the excerpts altogether and just read Muir's commentary, and get a good and entertaining education in the history of humorous writing in English.
April 12, 2016
What a wonderful book. Unlike so many other "Oxford Book of...." assemblages, this one was compiled with a great deal of thought and care, over the course of twenty years, I believe. And the notes on the pieces are considered and useful.
Most people interested in the subject will likely find they've already read a good number of the pieces, but I doubt there are many who won't find a few dozen they aren't familiar with. And in these cases, the notes are especially helpful.
Most people interested in the subject will likely find they've already read a good number of the pieces, but I doubt there are many who won't find a few dozen they aren't familiar with. And in these cases, the notes are especially helpful.
January 26, 2016
Wonderful collection of an enormous variety of approaches to humour in print. Repeatedly picking it up is also an excellent cardio workout...*smile*
May 8, 2023
I remember buying this when it first came out in paperback but it has taken until now for me to work my way through it. It is full of marvellous material. Of course, not all of the humour still works after several centuries - as we know, even material that was considered hilarious 40 years ago is now seriously unfunny. However, the vast range from across the English speaking world makes up for that.
My only quibble is the order of the material. Generally, Muir follows the vague order that works were written. He can’t be too strict with this, as different strands of comedy were appearing simultaneously in the UK, USA and Australia. He groups these in their various genres. However, the problem occurs after the Second World War when the chronological order goes out of the window. In what world does Bill Bryson come before Evelyn Waugh? This means that it is no longer possible to see influences carried through. Ending with Wodehouse is emotionally satisfying but again you don’t get to register his influence on later writers.
My only quibble is the order of the material. Generally, Muir follows the vague order that works were written. He can’t be too strict with this, as different strands of comedy were appearing simultaneously in the UK, USA and Australia. He groups these in their various genres. However, the problem occurs after the Second World War when the chronological order goes out of the window. In what world does Bill Bryson come before Evelyn Waugh? This means that it is no longer possible to see influences carried through. Ending with Wodehouse is emotionally satisfying but again you don’t get to register his influence on later writers.
February 17, 2024
At right around 1,200 pages, this book is a chunk. But I read a few pages every week over the past few years and plodded through it all. Humor has changed through the years and it is really fascinating to see how the 18th century, for instance, wrote about humor and what it meant to be genuinely funny. The early 20th century was probably the best for just pure wit and winsomeness and it has slowly devolved since then to present day. This was equal parts history as it was humor and while it is a large work, I thought it was worth the time.
January 12, 2024
Good in parts, so to speak. But it rarely raised a laugh, so for me not worth reading through it all for an occasional smile. The sexism was outstanding, including Frank Muir's commentary, at a time when he should have known better.
June 16, 2017
Very comprehensive collection with insightful introductions for each author included. All great fun.
August 24, 2022
This is an awesome find. It covers many centuries of humour. It enlightens. I would love to find an ebook version
December 27, 2023
This book has given me more joy over the years than any other book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews