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Kathleen
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44 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1918
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186 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Morley
372 books194 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
American writer Christopher Darlington Morley founded the Saturday Review, from 1924 to 1940 edited it, and prolifically, most notably authored popular novels.
Christopher Morley, a journalist, essayist, and poet, also produced on stage for a few years and gave college lectures.
American writer Christopher Darlington Morley founded the Saturday Review, from 1924 to 1940 edited it, and prolifically, most notably authored popular novels.
Christopher Morley, a journalist, essayist, and poet, also produced on stage for a few years and gave college lectures.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
February 24, 2017
Sin duda, una deliciosa comedia de enredo, de mano de uno de los grandes escritores de los años 1890/1957. Un obra que se lee en un día, y que provoca más de una carcajada.
August 13, 2017
Es muy probable que esta novela no merezca tantas estrellas como cuatro, pero yo me lo he pasado tan bien, y me ha dejado tan buen sabor de boca, que se las pongo igualmente.
De vez en cuando es necesaria una lectura ligera que descongestione el cerebro de otras más densas o "intensas".
Al final esta obra es casi una farsa: situaciones inverosímiles, comedia física e identidades erróneas. Una de esas comedias donde los personajes mienten sobre quiénes son y hay muchas entradas y salidas de escena.
Es entretenida, desternillante y con un final que me gustó (me hubiera molestado que terminara de otra manera). Uno de esos libros que te dejan con la sonrisa en los labios.
De vez en cuando es necesaria una lectura ligera que descongestione el cerebro de otras más densas o "intensas".
Al final esta obra es casi una farsa: situaciones inverosímiles, comedia física e identidades erróneas. Una de esas comedias donde los personajes mienten sobre quiénes son y hay muchas entradas y salidas de escena.
Es entretenida, desternillante y con un final que me gustó (me hubiera molestado que terminara de otra manera). Uno de esos libros que te dejan con la sonrisa en los labios.
June 30, 2017
קתלין היא קומדיית מצבים משעשעת על חבורת בחורין שמוצאים מכתב בחנות ספרים ומדמיינים את הדמויות ואת הסיפור שמאחורי המכתב.
כשהם בחופשה, הם מבקשים להכיר את קתלין הדמות המרכזית במכתב שנראית להם בחורה צעירה מלבבת. לשם כך הם מתחרים בהמצאת דמויות כדי להיכנס לביתה.
הסיפור מתמקד בשלב בו הבחורים נכנסים לבית בדמויות הממוצאות דבר שגורר קומדיית מצבים משעשעת.
ספר קצר ומענג.
כשהם בחופשה, הם מבקשים להכיר את קתלין הדמות המרכזית במכתב שנראית להם בחורה צעירה מלבבת. לשם כך הם מתחרים בהמצאת דמויות כדי להיכנס לביתה.
הסיפור מתמקד בשלב בו הבחורים נכנסים לבית בדמויות הממוצאות דבר שגורר קומדיית מצבים משעשעת.
ספר קצר ומענג.
January 5, 2021
Una historia afable, entretenida y me recordó un poco al Camerino de lo hermanos Marx, cuando todos van a parar a la casa de Kathleen, es curioso que se nombre está calle Road, Como en el libro" 84 Charing Cross Road"
Me reí de lo lindo con el lío que se monta en la cocina y en general en la casa.
Extractos del libro:
Cuando me pongo nerviosa no me hago justicia a mí misma
«¡Este plato es para el cura!», cuando mandó usted uno de los de sopa.
—Si me premite, señorita —dio Eliza—, fue porque era el plato en el que se me derramó una cucharada de pimienta, y pensé que era mejor que fuese para el clero antes que para otra persona.
Me reí de lo lindo con el lío que se monta en la cocina y en general en la casa.
Extractos del libro:
Cuando me pongo nerviosa no me hago justicia a mí misma
«¡Este plato es para el cura!», cuando mandó usted uno de los de sopa.
—Si me premite, señorita —dio Eliza—, fue porque era el plato en el que se me derramó una cucharada de pimienta, y pensé que era mejor que fuese para el clero antes que para otra persona.
July 29, 2016
4.5 stars. Having enjoyed several of Christopher Morley's books, I'd been wanting to read some more, and picked this one as a likely-looking summer read. I wasn't disappointed! It's a charming, light-hearted little comedy—quite short; I read it over the course of a morning, and laughed out loud pretty frequently while doing so.
The story, set around the the time the book was published—1918, I believe—concerns a literary club of Oxford students who have undertaken to write a serial story between them. The one assigned to write the first installment finds a letter someone dropped in a bookshop, addressed to "Joe" and signed "Kathleen," and is inspired with the idea to write a story featuring only the people mentioned in the letter as characters. Not only is the story a grand success, but the young men are so charmed with the personality of the letter-writer, the unknown Kathleen, that they all become thoroughly captivated by her and ultimately decide they must find her and see what she's really like. So they set out on the "Great Kathleen Excursion," organized as a contest to see who can be the first to succeed in making Kathleen's acquaintance. Hilarity ensues as they all try various stratagems and disguises to maneuver their way into the presence of Kathleen and her family, while attempting to foil each other's progress—their methods involving everything from fake telegrams to stuffed eggs (the recipe scene is a hoot). Keeping up their various charades becomes tricky as some of the people mentioned in the letter turn out very different than imagined! Of course the whole thing eventually comes unravelled in classic screwball-comedy style at a chaotic dinner party, but all ends happily. A really fun read!
The story, set around the the time the book was published—1918, I believe—concerns a literary club of Oxford students who have undertaken to write a serial story between them. The one assigned to write the first installment finds a letter someone dropped in a bookshop, addressed to "Joe" and signed "Kathleen," and is inspired with the idea to write a story featuring only the people mentioned in the letter as characters. Not only is the story a grand success, but the young men are so charmed with the personality of the letter-writer, the unknown Kathleen, that they all become thoroughly captivated by her and ultimately decide they must find her and see what she's really like. So they set out on the "Great Kathleen Excursion," organized as a contest to see who can be the first to succeed in making Kathleen's acquaintance. Hilarity ensues as they all try various stratagems and disguises to maneuver their way into the presence of Kathleen and her family, while attempting to foil each other's progress—their methods involving everything from fake telegrams to stuffed eggs (the recipe scene is a hoot). Keeping up their various charades becomes tricky as some of the people mentioned in the letter turn out very different than imagined! Of course the whole thing eventually comes unravelled in classic screwball-comedy style at a chaotic dinner party, but all ends happily. A really fun read!
September 22, 2019
4 🌟
He dudado en ponerle las 4 estrellas, porque no sé si llega a merecerlas, pero me ha atrapado y lo he disfrutado tanto... que para mí si las merece. He vuelto a conectar con Morley, el cual me cautivó con su Librería Ambulante pero que me decepcionó con La librería encantada. En esta ocasión, me ha cautivado con este grupo de universitarios de Oxford que tras encontrar uno de ellos una carta de una desconocida, una tal Kathleen que escribe a un tal Joe, deciden escribir entre todos una historia cuyos personajes sean precisamente las figuras presentes en dicha carta. Tras esto, se dejan llevar por su creación, imaginando cómo podría ser esa Kathleen que a todos tiene embelesados... y deciden que han de conocer a la Kathleen real ¡Allá que van todos a su encuentro! ¿Quién conseguirá su amistad primero e invitarla a las regatas de Oxford?
Muy muy entretenido, me he reído mucho con las ocurrencias de estos chicos y se lee en un rato. Me ha encantado 😊
He dudado en ponerle las 4 estrellas, porque no sé si llega a merecerlas, pero me ha atrapado y lo he disfrutado tanto... que para mí si las merece. He vuelto a conectar con Morley, el cual me cautivó con su Librería Ambulante pero que me decepcionó con La librería encantada. En esta ocasión, me ha cautivado con este grupo de universitarios de Oxford que tras encontrar uno de ellos una carta de una desconocida, una tal Kathleen que escribe a un tal Joe, deciden escribir entre todos una historia cuyos personajes sean precisamente las figuras presentes en dicha carta. Tras esto, se dejan llevar por su creación, imaginando cómo podría ser esa Kathleen que a todos tiene embelesados... y deciden que han de conocer a la Kathleen real ¡Allá que van todos a su encuentro! ¿Quién conseguirá su amistad primero e invitarla a las regatas de Oxford?
Muy muy entretenido, me he reído mucho con las ocurrencias de estos chicos y se lee en un rato. Me ha encantado 😊
May 9, 2017
Fun, but not nearly up to the level of Parnassus on Wheels.
May 7, 2019
מועדון ספרותי של סטודנטים בריטיים מוצאים מכתב של נערה בשם קתלין ומחברים לפיו סדרת סיפורים קצרים. לאחר כתיבת הסיפורים הם מחליטים על תחרות שמטרתה להכיר את קתלין האמתית והתחרות מובילה למקרים קומיים שונים.
ספר קצר (מאוד) אבל משעשע ומצחיק.
ספר קצר (מאוד) אבל משעשע ומצחיק.
August 18, 2011
Kathleen is a short, lively little novel by Christopher Morley. It's a slice of early 20th Century Oxford life--It's what Oxford was probably like when Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey was earning his First in History and swatting balls all over the cricket field. And, I am SO turning into a Christopher Morley fan-girl. I loved The Haunted Bookshop. And now I've loved Kathleen. It's like Wodehouse. But better. I'm getting all gushy and I don't think I can help it.
Morley's book brings us the Scorpions, a literary society made up of Oxford undergraduates whose purpose seems to be to write witty poetry, share literary papers, and to put together a smashing serial novel penned in turn by each member. Kenneth Forbes has been elected to start the serial off with a bang and has been given the entire Christmas vacation to use his fertile imagination to produce the opening chapter. So of course, in true undergraduate style, he is spending the first Sunday of term "at his desk desperately driving his pen across the paper." The Scorpions will be invading his rooms for their weekly meeting in about two hours time.
But Forbes has come up with a winning opener. While browsing at a bookstore, he discovers what appears to be a mild love letter from "Kathleen" to her beau "Joe." He decides that the Scorpions should use the letter as their guide--writing their story about the trials and tribulations of the couple's romance and only using people actually mentioned in the letter as characters. His fellow society members think this is a ripping good idea and they spend the term producing the saga of Kathleen and Joe--and in the process, Kathleen becomes the ideal woman for each of them. They soon decide that it would be great fun to descend upon Kathleen's hometown and attempt to meet the woman of their dreams. A contest is suggested in which each member is to make whatever arrangements he might (so long as they are not distressing to Kathleen and her family) and the winner will be the one who succeeds in speaking with Kathleen and having her agree to visit them in college. What follows is an onslaught of disguises, telegrams, and humorous hijinks. Great fun indeed!
This was so much fun. I started it at 7:30 last night and could not go to bed until I finished the last page (midnight). I couldn't wait to see what disguise, what elaborate plan each society member would come up with next. The events of the dinner party at Kathleen's house are the highlight of the adventure and it was all laugh-out-loud terrific. Morley writes with such simplicity; he was an absolute delight after wading through the over-done prose of Stevenson.
I suppose if one wanted to get all analytical and English-majory (oh, wait, I am English-majory), then one might want to look in-depth at the perception of women in the early 20th Century and examine this early form of stalking....Nah. Let's just enjoy it for what it is. Good clean fun with a bunch of high-spirited Oxford undergrads. Lovely.
Morley's book brings us the Scorpions, a literary society made up of Oxford undergraduates whose purpose seems to be to write witty poetry, share literary papers, and to put together a smashing serial novel penned in turn by each member. Kenneth Forbes has been elected to start the serial off with a bang and has been given the entire Christmas vacation to use his fertile imagination to produce the opening chapter. So of course, in true undergraduate style, he is spending the first Sunday of term "at his desk desperately driving his pen across the paper." The Scorpions will be invading his rooms for their weekly meeting in about two hours time.
But Forbes has come up with a winning opener. While browsing at a bookstore, he discovers what appears to be a mild love letter from "Kathleen" to her beau "Joe." He decides that the Scorpions should use the letter as their guide--writing their story about the trials and tribulations of the couple's romance and only using people actually mentioned in the letter as characters. His fellow society members think this is a ripping good idea and they spend the term producing the saga of Kathleen and Joe--and in the process, Kathleen becomes the ideal woman for each of them. They soon decide that it would be great fun to descend upon Kathleen's hometown and attempt to meet the woman of their dreams. A contest is suggested in which each member is to make whatever arrangements he might (so long as they are not distressing to Kathleen and her family) and the winner will be the one who succeeds in speaking with Kathleen and having her agree to visit them in college. What follows is an onslaught of disguises, telegrams, and humorous hijinks. Great fun indeed!
This was so much fun. I started it at 7:30 last night and could not go to bed until I finished the last page (midnight). I couldn't wait to see what disguise, what elaborate plan each society member would come up with next. The events of the dinner party at Kathleen's house are the highlight of the adventure and it was all laugh-out-loud terrific. Morley writes with such simplicity; he was an absolute delight after wading through the over-done prose of Stevenson.
I suppose if one wanted to get all analytical and English-majory (oh, wait, I am English-majory), then one might want to look in-depth at the perception of women in the early 20th Century and examine this early form of stalking....Nah. Let's just enjoy it for what it is. Good clean fun with a bunch of high-spirited Oxford undergrads. Lovely.
September 2, 2018
On the strength of the other Christopher Morley books I've read recently, I picked up this short story which was said to be hilariously funny. And while there were a few moments which made me laugh out loud, I'd have to say that the humor is what I've come to expect from Morley, low-key, a bit sly, but nothing too raucous.
The Kathleen of the title is a young woman who becomes known to a group of undergrads through a misplaced letter to someone named "Joe." Over the rest of the term, the young men play a literary game during which they create a persona for Kathleen, and fall in love with her. When their break comes, they decide they're going to go seek her out, and the man who can get to know her and convince her to come to the college for some event, is the winner of the contest. Yeah, it's a little stalkerish, but not to worry, these boys are essentially decent sorts who are more interested in besting each other than ever really making any headway with Kathleen who they have elevated to almost royal status.
It's a silly story about a group of young students who are still fairly gauche, and don't really know how to talk to young women. There are misunderstandings, and wild foolishness, and in the end they confess, and no one wins the game, so no one is hurt or rejected. All in good fun.
And yes, it's dated. It is so very dated. The plot can be read like a rough idea for a dark mystery or thriller with a title like "The Girl Who Never Existed" or something like that. But if you read it with a thought to the era and milieu in which it was written, it probably won't seem all that sinister to you. I did enjoy it and I did find it funny, particularly when all the young men show up at Kathleen's house in some sort of disguise or other.
The Kathleen of the title is a young woman who becomes known to a group of undergrads through a misplaced letter to someone named "Joe." Over the rest of the term, the young men play a literary game during which they create a persona for Kathleen, and fall in love with her. When their break comes, they decide they're going to go seek her out, and the man who can get to know her and convince her to come to the college for some event, is the winner of the contest. Yeah, it's a little stalkerish, but not to worry, these boys are essentially decent sorts who are more interested in besting each other than ever really making any headway with Kathleen who they have elevated to almost royal status.
It's a silly story about a group of young students who are still fairly gauche, and don't really know how to talk to young women. There are misunderstandings, and wild foolishness, and in the end they confess, and no one wins the game, so no one is hurt or rejected. All in good fun.
And yes, it's dated. It is so very dated. The plot can be read like a rough idea for a dark mystery or thriller with a title like "The Girl Who Never Existed" or something like that. But if you read it with a thought to the era and milieu in which it was written, it probably won't seem all that sinister to you. I did enjoy it and I did find it funny, particularly when all the young men show up at Kathleen's house in some sort of disguise or other.
May 19, 2018
Me encantó la originalidad de la historia, es fresca, divertida y te envuelve rápidamente. Las bromas que se juegas estos románticos estudiantes los llevaran a absurdas situaciones y cómicas experiencias. Quedé gratamente complacida con su lectura.
October 19, 2017
3,5 estrellas
Comedia de enredo de estilo british muy recomendable. Se lee en un suspiro.
Entretenida.
Comedia de enredo de estilo british muy recomendable. Se lee en un suspiro.
Entretenida.
November 20, 2020
נובלה קצרה ומשעשעת ביותר. סטודנט באוקספורד מוצא מכתב שכתבה קתלין לג'ו. סביב המכתב הוא וחבריו רוקמים סידרה של סיפורים בהמשכים סביב דמותה של קתלין וסביב משפחתה, כפי שהם מדמיינים אותה. בחופשת הסמסטר הם מחליטים לנסוע לעיר שבה היא מתגוררת ומתחרים ביניהם - מי יהיה הראשון שיגרום לה לדבר איתו ויזמינה להיות אורחת שלו בתחרות הסירות באוקספורד? מכאן מתחילה עלילה מאוד משעשעת על הנסיונות השונים של הסטודנטים לפגוש את קתלין, תוך כדי שהם מגלים שמה שדמיינו לעצמם לא ממש נכון... ספר קצרצר, חמוד ומהנה מאוד לקריאה.
November 27, 2021
3.5/5. Comedia de enredos ligera y agradable, con personajes simpáticos y situaciones cómicas. Mi única crítica es que al ser una obra tan corta los personajes no están desarrollados, algo que haría de la novela una gran obra dentro de su género, porque los bocetos que presenta de cada uno son realmente interesantes.
November 15, 2017
קומדיית טעויות קצרה על חבורת סטודנטים בקולג׳ באוקספורד שנתקלים במכתב של נערה לאדם בשם ג׳ו כותבים סיפור בהמשכים עליהם ואז מתחרים מי יפגוש אותה ראשון ולצורך כך מתחזים לאנשים שונים. קצר, אולי מדי, ונחמד.
יכול לשמש בסיס להצגה קומית תקופתית.
יכול לשמש בסיס להצגה קומית תקופתית.
March 21, 2020
Una novela muy divertida. Recomiendo totalmente esta aventura de un grupo de amigos, que buscan enamorar a una desconocida.
Es sencilla de leer y muy cómica, donde seguro reirás con las tretas de estos amigos.
Es sencilla de leer y muy cómica, donde seguro reirás con las tretas de estos amigos.
December 16, 2021
No conocía de nada este libro ni a este autor, pero todo lo que más me ha gustado este año han sido libros como este. De los que no sabía nada, solo que por alguna razón me llamaron la atención, por la razón más tonta, no sé.
Es un libro pequeñito, con mucho encanto y muy muy divertido.
Es un libro pequeñito, con mucho encanto y muy muy divertido.
January 16, 2024
Novella from 1920, a pleasant screwball comedy from the ever pleasant Morley. A good conceit and a couple laughs but the treatment is very slight and hasty.
January 31, 2024
One of the funniest books of all time, so fast to read, I just love it <3
November 6, 2017
Morley nunca decepciona. Ya es el tercer libro suyo que leo y, aunque a partir de la sinopsis esperaba otra cosa, me ha gustado esta breve historia porque sigue teniendo su encanto. Tiene ese aire de comedia de enredo clásica. Una buena opción para pasar un buen rato una tarde.
February 26, 2017
A cute, funny story. I especially like the idea of mashing uncooked potatoes with a hammer! The reader was pretty good too, and I would willingly listen to more of his recordings.
February 23, 2018
A silly but thoroughly enjoyable little story about an innocent practice joke and some College men. Worth the read
August 10, 2017
חשבתי שזה יהיה ספר על מה שקורה כשפנטזיה פוגשת מציאות. אבל כנראה שכריסטופר מורלי באמת היה אדם אופטימי מטבעו, ומלא באמונה בטבע האדם, שהוא מעדיף לא להקשות יותר מידי. אז במקום לתאר את הסיפור של קתלין המומצאת ואת הפער בין הפנטזיה למציאות, הוא מתאר סיפור בלשי של חיפוש מושא התשוקה, שהמטרה שלו היא לבדר את המחפשים ואת הקוראים. אז צריך לנטרל את העובדה שזה סטוקרי בטירוף, וגם את העדרם של כמה קונבציות סיפוריות שחוקות שהתרגלתי אליהם (זה טוב מאוד שזה לא מופיע בספר, ויחד עם זאת מוזר מאוד, בכל זאת תגובה טבעית להתנהגויות מסויימות) ופשוט להנות המסיפור הבלשי ומהמשחק בין החברים. עובד במידה חלקית, ואם זאת עדיין זורם חביב ומהנה.
October 31, 2024
A literary society, a lost letter, and a chaotic quest to meet a half fictional young lady--
This was an absolute romp!
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up, but it's so easy to fall in with the Scorpions and their chaotic academia ways. If there's a simple way to do things, you can rest assured that the Scorpions will ignore it and choose the most theatrical and silly option.
As writers, they can be brilliant. But out in the wild, on holiday, well...let's say we could also call this "The Scorpions and the Search for a Single Brain Cell."
It's probably why they're such a delight.
This was an absolute romp!
I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked it up, but it's so easy to fall in with the Scorpions and their chaotic academia ways. If there's a simple way to do things, you can rest assured that the Scorpions will ignore it and choose the most theatrical and silly option.
As writers, they can be brilliant. But out in the wild, on holiday, well...let's say we could also call this "The Scorpions and the Search for a Single Brain Cell."
It's probably why they're such a delight.
October 20, 2022
Me la he leído de una sentada y me lo he pasado pipa. Me he reído a carcajadas con el puré de patata.
Es una historia muy cortita en la que un grupo de universitarios escriben un relato a partir de las personas que aparecen en una carta que han encontrado. A raíz de ahí fantasean con saber quien es en realidad una tal Kathleen que aparece en la carta así que van a realizar disparatadas estrategias para conocerla.
Tenedla muy en cuenta si os apetece algo divertido y fresco, os aseguro que os arrancará más de una sonrisa.
Es una historia muy cortita en la que un grupo de universitarios escriben un relato a partir de las personas que aparecen en una carta que han encontrado. A raíz de ahí fantasean con saber quien es en realidad una tal Kathleen que aparece en la carta así que van a realizar disparatadas estrategias para conocerla.
Tenedla muy en cuenta si os apetece algo divertido y fresco, os aseguro que os arrancará más de una sonrisa.
December 31, 2024
Entretenida y breve comedia de enredo, parece ser que algo autobiográfica. Perfecta para dejar descansar la quijotera durante unas horas entre lecturas más regias. Parece ser que Morley se contagió del humor inglés de sus años en Oxford. Pero humor inglés del bueno, no del soporífero Tom Sharpe.
Aún así, inferior a su entrañable Librería Ambulante.
Aún así, inferior a su entrañable Librería Ambulante.
January 16, 2020
A short romantic comedy involving Oxford undergrads, a rhodes scholar, and a tween named Kathleen. Available for free on the Guthenberg project (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7208), it aged surprisingly well considering its political incorrectness, but only because it is short and to the point.
August 31, 2020
I found it funny but a little creepy that a group of college boys are writing a story based on a letter that was sent as a joke... but anyway, I was a great read and I also laughed at the end to find who are the characters really are. As for there actual gender and etc.
I enjoyed it!
I enjoyed it!
June 27, 2017
A very short book but very different and quite funny.
March 6, 2018
אושר לקרוא ספר כזה!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews