Stephen Leacock: Humour and Humanity

by Gerald Lynch, Alan T. Davies

From the preface: "Stephen Leacock is still often regarded as a writer of lightweight amusements and unchallenging satire, as an author without an imaginative centre who lacked a vision of sufficient power and clarity to sustain a lifetime of serious writing. According to this view, which has been too easily received, Leacock squandered an early, promising talent (though he was in fact, middle-aged when he published Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town in 1912), and consequently his writings, like his legendary Lord Ronald, "rode madly off in all directions." After years of chasing down Leacock's numerous literary mounts, I can assert that none of this is true. Leacock's writing emerges from a centre that is the confluence of the two traditions of humanism and toryism, traditions that found in Leacock fertile ground for the propagation of such qualities as tolerance of human fallibility and acceptance of social responsibility. What is remarkable with respect to Leacock's literary output is that even his furthest-flung, seemingly inconsequential humourous pieces move in relation to this tory-humanist centre." Lynch invites us to accompany him on an odyssey through Leacock's two main works, Sunshine Sketches and Arcadian Adventures of the Idle Rich ... He aspires to enlighten the open-minded reader, and is highly successful in doing so." Elspeth Cameron, Coordinator of Canadian Literature and Language Program, New College, University of Toronto

216 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1988

About the author

Gerald Lynch was born on a farm at Lough Egish in Co. Monaghan, Ireland, and grew up in Canada. His latest novel is *Plaguing Jake,* published in 2024 by At Bay Press. *The Dying Detective* (2020) was the concluding novel of a trilogy comprising *Omphalos* and *Missing Children.* These novels were preceded by *Troutstream,* *Exotic Dancers,* and two books of short stories, *Kisbey* and *One’s Company.* He has published numerous short stories, essays, and reviews, as well as having edited a number of books. He has also authored two books of non-fiction, *Stephen Leacock: Humour and Humanity* and *The One and the Many: Canadian Short Story Cycles.* He has been the recipient of a few awards, including the gold award for short fiction in Canada’s National Magazine Awards.