The Life and Times of Algernon Swift

by Bill Jones

Our young and earnest hero, Algernon Swift, returns from his travels abroad and must once more face the trials of life, love and the English language. Back at home, Algernon tries to cope with the exorbitant passion of the exquisite Mavis (a woman with X on her mind) and his elderly uncle, Reverend Hawker, and his exasperating inability to mean one thing at a time.

Well-meaning in a world of double meanings, can Algernon avoid becoming another of Mavis's Xs or, at least, plunging into an existential crisis of his own? Amidst perpetual solicitude, can Algernon find both solace and solitude? Punning on subjects as diverse as Henry VIII's wives, Pre-Raphaelite painters, mathematics and fairy tales, we are taken on a hilarious and punishing journey of jokes – both high-brow and homespun – as Algernon attempts to make sense of, and even delight in, the world of word-play.

Written and illustrated by Bill Jones, The Life and Times of Algernon Swift contains some of the best – or indeed worst – puns and jokes you will ever read.

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

An attorney and former Louisiana state senator, Bill Jones participated in the family business of ranching and learned to cowboy at an early age. Following college, he worked for two years in the cattle business then attended LSU law school, receiving a J.D. in 1974. Jones practices law and runs cattle in Ruston, Louisiana.