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The Best of Dorothy Parker: Folio Society Edition
This is a collection of short stories and poetry by Dorothy Parker, collected and illustrated by the Folio Society in a special edition. The Folio Society is a privately owned London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. It produces illustrated hardback editions of classic fiction and non-fiction books. Each Folio edition features specially designed bindings and includes artist-commissioned illustrations (most often in fiction titles) or researched artworks and photographs (in non-fiction titles). Most editions come with their own slipcase.
234 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
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About the author
Dorothy Parker
327 books2,044 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.
Dorothy Parker was an American writer, poet and critic best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the Hollywood blacklist.
Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 8, 2020
I'm not normally a short story guy, but I have always had an admiration for the keen and biting wit of Dorothy Parker. Most of my exposure to her has been through her poetry or quotes excerpted from her stories. Having found this lovely Folio Society edition at a bargain basement price, I figured that this was an excellent chance to get acquainted.
The book is divided fairly evenly between Parker's prose and poetry. There will be a short story followed by a page or two of poems followed by another short tale of woe. If you aren't a big fan of poetry you will be glad to learn that Parker's poems are neither long nor complicated. Her short stories are engrossing, mostly monologues or dialogues, and all involve people behaving terribly toward others who probably deserve better treatment.
Sadly, Parker wasn't a particularly prolific writer and this book likely contains most of her work. I suggest that the reader take this book in small doses: I gulped it down and halfway through I found the bitterness a little hard to swallow. Stories were so similar as to seem repetitive, and I noticed on at least one occasion a passage from one story reappeared practically verbatim in another.
Repetitive or not, everything is very nicely written and I can see myself returning to this book in the future. In small doses, of course.
The book is divided fairly evenly between Parker's prose and poetry. There will be a short story followed by a page or two of poems followed by another short tale of woe. If you aren't a big fan of poetry you will be glad to learn that Parker's poems are neither long nor complicated. Her short stories are engrossing, mostly monologues or dialogues, and all involve people behaving terribly toward others who probably deserve better treatment.
Sadly, Parker wasn't a particularly prolific writer and this book likely contains most of her work. I suggest that the reader take this book in small doses: I gulped it down and halfway through I found the bitterness a little hard to swallow. Stories were so similar as to seem repetitive, and I noticed on at least one occasion a passage from one story reappeared practically verbatim in another.
Repetitive or not, everything is very nicely written and I can see myself returning to this book in the future. In small doses, of course.
November 5, 2018
Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend and a foe.
Four be the things I’d be better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles and doubt.
Three be the things I shall never obtain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.
A wonderful collection from the divine Dorothy P., full of scathing humour and bite, a knowing hope and an undertow of melancholy sadness. The stories are short, often monologues or dialogues which reveal character in cutting ways. The poems and epigrams are gems of wit and brevity – and scan beautifully. Poetry for people who think they don’t like poetry.
August 6, 2016
After coming across bits of Dorothy Parker's work over the years - a poem here, a little story there - I wanted to get a better overview of her whole deal. This book provides that. Turns out, though, I enjoy her witty, bitter work better in brief. The book is made up of a few poems and then a short story and then a few more poems and then another story, rinse, repeat. Pretty much everything in here is quick and funny and scathing, and Parker is brilliant at capturing human foibles and reflecting them back in a sharper light. It doesn't take long to ~get it~, though, and the recurring themes and characters turned a little sour and repetitious when taken as a whole. I'd rather appreciate a small dose of Parker's wit found in the wild. Maybe that's why everything she wrote was short and snappy - a book full of it is too bitter for most palates.
August 19, 2018
I've started this book years ago and read most of it then. When I got near the end, I didn't want it to be done so I put it away. I finally finished it off this week. I found the poetry quite accessible. Ms Parker went in for simple rhyming. It was the subject manner of them that most enjoyed. My favorite part was the short stories. She was excellent at character development and dialog.
I have the Folio Society boxed edition, which isn't an option.
I have the Folio Society boxed edition, which isn't an option.
May 17, 2015
I thought that Dorothy's short works were great, and I'd do between a 3 and 4 stars, mostly because, when collected, the fact that she wrote quite a few stories with very similar characters, with the same tics (multiple stories had a woman who thought homeless people "probably owned an apartment building somewhere" - characterizations that were handy were repeated often) and the same situations. They were by turns funny, bitter, sad, etc...but the variety was missing.
It's also pretty evident when things are all rounded up like this that Dorothy didn't think too much of too many people. Fabulous at damning someone with just a word or two, which again, is fun, but is in EVERY story...
I'd suggest reading these separately, or having it as a bedside book you only turn to once a week or so, for one or two stories at a time. Concentrated, she goes down less easily.
It's also pretty evident when things are all rounded up like this that Dorothy didn't think too much of too many people. Fabulous at damning someone with just a word or two, which again, is fun, but is in EVERY story...
I'd suggest reading these separately, or having it as a bedside book you only turn to once a week or so, for one or two stories at a time. Concentrated, she goes down less easily.
August 31, 2014
It's not that I didn't enjoy her style or that I couldn't admire her skill. Reading a poem or short story once in a while would probably be quite fun. But a whole book full is hard to swallow. I was getting bored quite quickly with one after another story or poem about pitiful or unhappy female characters or lost love and all together the mocking tone. Just not for me.
July 15, 2016
I wanted to rate this higher and if I had only read any one or 2 of her short stories, I certainly would have. She mastered that field of her art. They are not really stories, more like scenes, mostly conversations and very sharp, bittersweet and right on target. But they all get to be much the same, so as a collection it gets monotonous. I'm not a fan of her poetry, but I'm not a fan of poetry. But this isn't the kind of poetry that goes over my head, these poems are short, simple and often witty rhymes. Stuff I imagine my grandma finding amusing.
March 4, 2014
The Best of Dorothy Parker
(Main creative period: Circa 1920-33)
A book of short stories and poems with plenty of the autobiographical
in her work. Her stories are laced with typical Jewish humour and must
appeal to readers with a sense of humour.
A typical extract: "Did I enjoy the party? One more drink and I'd have been under the host!"
(Main creative period: Circa 1920-33)
A book of short stories and poems with plenty of the autobiographical
in her work. Her stories are laced with typical Jewish humour and must
appeal to readers with a sense of humour.
A typical extract: "Did I enjoy the party? One more drink and I'd have been under the host!"
January 21, 2018
I loved Dorothy Parker 50 years ago and love her now although her acerbic wit, keen powers of observation and blase competence are perhaps best digested in smaller doses. I liked the combination of poetry, sketches and prose and, boy, does she hit it right on the noggin.
Such a trove of characters.
Boy!
Such a trove of characters.
Boy!
January 24, 2018
A wonderful collection of prose and poetry largely illustrating the ways in which the pressures of conventional society push people into unhappy situations, vignette-by-vignette. Lots of women getting screwed over, but written from a perspective that feels more intimate/insider. I read the entirety of this book as a bedtime practice at a romantic partner's abode.
4.5/5
4.5/5
August 21, 2008
A fun book and a real eyeopener. This was one sharp woman. The first story in particular (about race) was wonderful. I am from the South and I am ashamed to say, I know this woman. The story focuses on a rather clueless woman at a cocktail party. Funny and tragic.
March 8, 2009
She was very funny but she wasn't just funny. The stories here are gems, finely observed, eccentrically written with a great ear for dialogue, and haunting.
June 25, 2012
One of my all time favorites! Parker had an amazing way with words!
October 8, 2024
I was given a copy of this some years ago, but had never got round to reading it until now. The copy I have is a 1955 third reprint Methuen hardback first published October 16th 1952. I was aware that Dorothy Parker was supposedly a sharply acerbic wit. Compared with her contemporaries, she must have stood out considerably as something different.
The book is a collection of short stories and poetry, the stories being anything from four to twenty pages in length, interspersed by three or four pages of usually short poems. Some of the poetry is a little naive and childish, but there are some very good, thought-provoking items as well.
The stories are each short enough to read in one sitting (usually in the bath, for me). Many of them centred on a well-to-do woman or couple, the thoughts and words of the lady tending to dominate the proceedings which usually focused on the state of their relationship - where there is a man in the story, he tends to be easy-going, good-looking, and not perhaps conforming to the lady's notion of an ideal boyfriend or husband. Each of these vignettes though is well-observed and while some stories do not really go anywhere and may appear incomplete, they make up a quite interesting collection of modern young women's thinking in the first half of the Twentieth century.
It should be noted that some of the language is "of its time" i.e. a couple of the stories, at least in this old print, do reference old terms which are no longer in use - be warned...
The book is a collection of short stories and poetry, the stories being anything from four to twenty pages in length, interspersed by three or four pages of usually short poems. Some of the poetry is a little naive and childish, but there are some very good, thought-provoking items as well.
The stories are each short enough to read in one sitting (usually in the bath, for me). Many of them centred on a well-to-do woman or couple, the thoughts and words of the lady tending to dominate the proceedings which usually focused on the state of their relationship - where there is a man in the story, he tends to be easy-going, good-looking, and not perhaps conforming to the lady's notion of an ideal boyfriend or husband. Each of these vignettes though is well-observed and while some stories do not really go anywhere and may appear incomplete, they make up a quite interesting collection of modern young women's thinking in the first half of the Twentieth century.
It should be noted that some of the language is "of its time" i.e. a couple of the stories, at least in this old print, do reference old terms which are no longer in use - be warned...
March 10, 2025
The Best of Dorothy Parker: Folio Society Edition
This beautifully presented edition collects a lot of Parker's short stories and poems.
Known for her wit and position in New York society in the first half of the twentieth century she was not a prolific writer but what she did write was entertaining and has stood the test of time which is particularly difficult for humorous stories.
The stories are all quite short and many of them are monologues or dialogues.
Many are funny, witty and frivolous which gives the more emotional and serious stories more of an impact.
This book intersperses a few poems between the stories and the poetry is easy to understand.
The only downside is that there is a repetitive quality to her writing. Several of the monologues are quite similar so to get the most enjoyment out of the book it's best to read it slowly in chunks rather than rushing through it all.
A lot of the humour comes from people being disparaging of others behind their backs. The acerbic comments are a Dorothy Parker trademark as are the amount of characters that enjoy more than a few drinks. The prohibition era didn't stop them at all. It just makes drinking even more exciting.
Sharp, insightful writing from a master wordsmith. She loved puns, plays on words, and had an ear for memorable dialogue and quotes. I found myself smiling and chuckling through many of the stories on offer here.
This beautifully presented edition collects a lot of Parker's short stories and poems.
Known for her wit and position in New York society in the first half of the twentieth century she was not a prolific writer but what she did write was entertaining and has stood the test of time which is particularly difficult for humorous stories.
The stories are all quite short and many of them are monologues or dialogues.
Many are funny, witty and frivolous which gives the more emotional and serious stories more of an impact.
This book intersperses a few poems between the stories and the poetry is easy to understand.
The only downside is that there is a repetitive quality to her writing. Several of the monologues are quite similar so to get the most enjoyment out of the book it's best to read it slowly in chunks rather than rushing through it all.
A lot of the humour comes from people being disparaging of others behind their backs. The acerbic comments are a Dorothy Parker trademark as are the amount of characters that enjoy more than a few drinks. The prohibition era didn't stop them at all. It just makes drinking even more exciting.
Sharp, insightful writing from a master wordsmith. She loved puns, plays on words, and had an ear for memorable dialogue and quotes. I found myself smiling and chuckling through many of the stories on offer here.
February 9, 2021
This makes for a lovely read, not just because of Dorothy Parker's signature sharp wit, but also due to the editorial choice of mixing poems among short stories. It was refreshing to alternate between verse and prose at the turn of a page. Most stories were funny or sarcastic. 'Just a little one' made me snort with laughter at this sick burn: 'do you really know a lot of people that say she's good-looking? You must have a wide acquaintance among the astigmatic.'
At times the 'twist' seemed repetitive, focusing on the relationships between men and women. However few of the stories were downright heart wrenching in small, poignant ways, like 'Big Blonde' - dealing with the expectation of women to always be a 'good sport' and resorting to alcohol abuse to hide depression, and 'Clothe the Naked' - where a black washerwoman is forced to beg for warm clothes for her blind grandson who enjoys walking in the neighbourhood and her 'philanthropic' employer gives her a formal dinner suit which causes him to be attacked in the street and become scared to leave the house.
Dorothy Parker's mastery is not just in her clever humour, it is in the way of conveying big ideas in small anecdotes and short poems which seem superficial at first glance.
At times the 'twist' seemed repetitive, focusing on the relationships between men and women. However few of the stories were downright heart wrenching in small, poignant ways, like 'Big Blonde' - dealing with the expectation of women to always be a 'good sport' and resorting to alcohol abuse to hide depression, and 'Clothe the Naked' - where a black washerwoman is forced to beg for warm clothes for her blind grandson who enjoys walking in the neighbourhood and her 'philanthropic' employer gives her a formal dinner suit which causes him to be attacked in the street and become scared to leave the house.
Dorothy Parker's mastery is not just in her clever humour, it is in the way of conveying big ideas in small anecdotes and short poems which seem superficial at first glance.
February 2, 2022
It's a delightful book simply as an object - a lovely jacket within a neat slipcase, it's a book you can simply enjoy looking at or picking up and handling.
It's a book into which you dip, maybe even intrude - it has a delightful serenity, you can almost feel guilty turning the pages. But it contains treats aplenty. Delightful treats. A selection of short stories (or are they essays) and poetry. The 'best' of Dorothy Parker? Everyone will have an opinion on that. But a delight.
Parker's stories deliver little excursions into human foibles. They'll make you laugh, they'll make you think ... they'll make you cringe, make you hope nobody remembers the time when you ... when you ... . She pricks human pomposity. She delivers some savage sabre cuts with a couple of lines of verse. But delightfully.
For me, one of the striking things about Dorothy Parker is her courage in standing up for causes and fighting her corner. Even in these non-political passages, you can see - you can hear - her skill with language. Read stories from other writers of the 1930s and 1940s, you'll often see dated language - particularly obvious in middle class English authors. Parker's language, her skill as an observer still seem fresh and contemporary, even coming on for a century later.
Delightful book.
It's a book into which you dip, maybe even intrude - it has a delightful serenity, you can almost feel guilty turning the pages. But it contains treats aplenty. Delightful treats. A selection of short stories (or are they essays) and poetry. The 'best' of Dorothy Parker? Everyone will have an opinion on that. But a delight.
Parker's stories deliver little excursions into human foibles. They'll make you laugh, they'll make you think ... they'll make you cringe, make you hope nobody remembers the time when you ... when you ... . She pricks human pomposity. She delivers some savage sabre cuts with a couple of lines of verse. But delightfully.
For me, one of the striking things about Dorothy Parker is her courage in standing up for causes and fighting her corner. Even in these non-political passages, you can see - you can hear - her skill with language. Read stories from other writers of the 1930s and 1940s, you'll often see dated language - particularly obvious in middle class English authors. Parker's language, her skill as an observer still seem fresh and contemporary, even coming on for a century later.
Delightful book.
October 8, 2020
A renowned wit who was also a member of the famous Algonquin round table, some of Parker's lines were celebrated much further afield than New York. Asked to place the word 'horticulture' in a sentence she responded 'You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think'. Her scathing review of Katherine Hepburn on Broadway included the eviscerating 'She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B & back again'. While her prose was often as sharp as a diamond a lot of the stories in this collection are very similar. That got a bit frustrating, reading ostensibly the same story with different character names. The best by far, in my opinion, was the last, Big Blonde. Her most famous poem, Resume ('Razors pain you ...'), is a stone cold classic but much of the rest I found uninspiring. The fantastic biography You Might As Well Live (another line from Resume) by John Keating revealed that her life was not as sparkling & hilarious as one might imagine. That certainly comes through in the works included here. Definitely of interest, particularly if you've heard about her but never read any of her original pieces.
August 4, 2021
Surely an impossible task to comment on one of the sharpest epigrammatists of them all and a top 10 choice to everyone's dinner party. Indeed, it's a shame that this book did not contain a section of her famous quips, concentrating, instead, on her poems and short stories all of which speak of fractured relationships, drink and unhappy love - surely a reflection of her own life. Her poem, Unfortunate Coincidence, says it all:
By the time you swear you're his,
Shivering and sighing,
And he vows his passion is
Infinite, undying –
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying
By the time you swear you're his,
Shivering and sighing,
And he vows his passion is
Infinite, undying –
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying
October 15, 2022
A collection best read slowly because the themes of the poems and short stories are so similar they otherwise seem repetitive and stale. I related more to the neonatal nurse in Horsie than to the many women who stand in for Dorothy in her roaring 20s stories. Even in satire her intimacy with them is telling. I was surprised to see that she's the source of "Men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" and liked her take on insomnia in The Little Hours best of all.
May 6, 2023
I'd got quite the wrong impression of Ms Parker, assuming she was a waspish writer. Many of these tales showed a profound understanding of and sympathy for human weakness and the varied aspects of love. Some were biting. I particularly liked Arrangement in Black and White. We all know someone who says 'I'm not ...' but shows by their actions they really are. The older I get the less I like most poetry, but some of this was OK. It was an interesting
February 23, 2021
four be the things i am wiser to know:
idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.
four be the things i’d been better without:
love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.
three be the things i shall never attain:
envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
three be the things i shall have till i die:
laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.
idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.
four be the things i’d been better without:
love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.
three be the things i shall never attain:
envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
three be the things i shall have till i die:
laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.
October 31, 2021
3.5
Some beautiful, some rather mundane. Especial highlights were Waltz (interesting influence of stream-of-consciousness style) and Big Blonde (a poetically tragic insight into alcoholism and suicide). Has me tempted to buy the collected Dorothy Parker!
Some beautiful, some rather mundane. Especial highlights were Waltz (interesting influence of stream-of-consciousness style) and Big Blonde (a poetically tragic insight into alcoholism and suicide). Has me tempted to buy the collected Dorothy Parker!
August 13, 2025
some of the short stories are incredible. a few are duds. some of the dialogue is the best I’ve ever read. more than anything, dorothy parker knew how to write a married couple that hates each other and I gotta respect that
June 15, 2020
The best of Dorothy Parker indeed! She's that bitch Hemingway could never be and her themes speak just as well today as they did in the 1930's
Read
October 12, 2021It was fine
April 10, 2022
I stan Dorothy Parker!!!
*Review to Come*
*Review to Come*
April 19, 2023
Interesting collection of stories and poems. My favorites are: Testament, The Satin Dress, The Immortals, The Standard of Living, Love Song, Song of one of the Girls, Bohemia, Sentiment and The Lovely Leave were the standouts.
November 10, 2015
I love Dorothy Parker!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews