English Humour

New York: Stein and Day, 1976. Reprint. Hardcover. Good in good dust jacket. Signed by previous owner. DJ has some wear, soiling, and edge tears and chips.. 208 p. Illustrations (some in color). Index. English Humour Originally published in 1929 as part of the English Heritage Series, this is a fascinating book charting the progression of English humour-from great writers to great illustrators. Priestley, the great English novelist, analyzes different the facets of English humor from Chaucer, Chesterton, Shakespeare, Gilbert, et al. in this scholarly, entertaining book. Chapters: The English Character, Clowns and Comedians, Comic Art, A Gallop and A Gossip, Three Novelists, Charles Lamb, Dickens, Shakespeare. Author: John Boynton Priestley, OM (September 13, 1894, Bradford, England-August 14, 1984, Stratford-upon-Avon) was an English writer and broadcaster. Priestley was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and by the age of thirty had established a reputation as a humorous writer and critic. His first major success came with a novel, The Good Companions (1929), but he became better known as a dramatist. Without doubt, his best-known play is An Inspector Calls (1946). This was later made into a film starring Alastair Sim (1954). His novel Angel Pavement (1930) further established him as a successful popular novelist, but his plays are more varied in tone, several being influenced by J.W. Dunne's theory of time, which plays a part in the plots of Dangerous Corner (1932) and Time and the Conways (1937). He married the archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes, with whom he co-wrote some minor works. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.