Short Story - 1000 Years of Laughter

Laughter is unique to man. This delightful anthology presents some of the funniest extracts in English literature. It opens with Anglo-Saxon riddles - 'they couldn't keep themselves warm on a diet of Beowulf - and continues with medieval memories, Tudor comic turns and Restoration buffoonery. The rise of the novel in the 18th century brought classic humour from Swift, Sterne and Smollett, the mantle then passing to Charles Dickens in the 19th. Included here are rarities from the antiquarian's cupboard. Children's literature produced unforgettable images from Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland, while in the first half of the 20th century emerged unforgettable comic writers as diverse as Dorothy Parker and P.G. Wodehouse. Entertaining from start to finish.

Publisher: NAXOS
Author: David Timson
Narrator: Full Cast Production
ISBN: 9 62634 269 2 Click here for more

Five great American short story writers, dating from the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, are represented here. Different in atmosphere and writing style, they nevertheless caught the mood and concerns of the day in a way that was distinctly American. Bierce's 'An Occurrence...' leaves echoes in the imagination; the stories by Crane and London recall the themes of the Civil War and the Klondike for which they are well known. Twain's humour is to the fore in The Notorious Jumping Frog.... And O. Henry's sharp observation makes his neat tales a joy to listen to. An attractive and accessible collection.

Publisher: NAXOS
Author: Various
Narrator: William Roberts
ISBN: 9 62634 212 9 Click here for more