Tales From a Roll Top Desk

by Christopher Morley

The prize package.--Advice to the lovelorn.--The curious case of Kenelm Digby.--Gloria and the garden of Sweden.--The Commutation chophouse.--The pert little hat.--Urn burial.--The battle of manila envelopes.--The climacteric.--Punch and Judy.--Referred to the author.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

262 pages, hardback

First published January 1, 1918

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales from a Rolltop Desk (1921)

11 racconti che hanno quasi tutti a che fare con la scrittura e ambientati a New York; in generale molto carini e simpatici, anche se quello del cappello e quello della caffettiera mi hanno scatenato un femminismo irritato che mi rendo conto essere fuori luogo dato il periodo di scrittura, ma tant'è. A mio parere, senza logica inserire 3 racconti con lo stesso protagonista (Dove Dulcet): tutti o nessuno. Quello che ho preferito è stato 'Consigli ai cuori infranti'

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few of these stories were really excellent - especially The Prize Package, Urn Burial and Advice to the Lovelorn. A few others have what I can only assume are meant to be twist endings, but the twist in some cases doesn't add anything or evoke anything. The last story was the worst of these, and also seemed extremely long; the end seemed impossible, or magic, but just didn't make sense to me. Overall, the stories are cute and somewhat interesting for their historical context alone.

[Ashlea Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of Marley's works, so far.

[JJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

A couple of the stories were well written, but the majority were not keeping my interest.