John Kendrick Bangs (1862–1922)

An exceedingly pleasant, diverting book that probably can't be written anymore, because not enough people are well educated enough to appreciate it. The shades of the imminent dead converse and debate in their private club on the title vessel. Participants include a very defensive Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Socrates, Confucius, Baron von Munchhausen (with his constant tall tales), Samuel Johnson and his inevitable Boswell, and others. Women are excluded from the vessel and the club, show more but reside on the shore--Queen Elizabeth and Socrates' wife prominent among them. The conversations are quite funny at times, and usually interesting. The author is wise to keep the proceedings short, however, as this type of thing can't be extended ad infinitum. Very enjoyable. show less

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

At the end of John Kendrick Bangs’ A House-boat on the Styx, the men went ashore to watch Goliath fight Samson, leaving the houseboat untended. So the ladies, headed by Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth, took the opportunity to trespass. While they were playing pool below decks, the pirate Captain Kidd and his crew, unaware that the ladies were aboard, hijacked the boat and set out for Europe so they could do some looting.

As The Pursuit of the Houseboat show more opens, everyone is discovering what’s just happened. When the men realize that the boat is missing, they have no idea how to find it but, fortunately, Sherlock Holmes appears and offers his services. Meanwhile, the pirates and the ladies are shocked and horrified to find themselves sharing the houseboat. The rest of the plot involves the pirates and the women trying to outwit each other.

The Pursuit of the Houseboat is more fun than A House-boat on the Styx — it doesn’t feel quite so much like a series of history lessons. There is still some slightly clunky humor that depends on understanding the historical allusions (e.g., Delilah is asked to fetch her scissors so she can cut the rope holding the anchor, and Queen Elizabeth tries to be discreet about her relationship to Sir Walter Raleigh), but The Pursuit of the Houseboat actually has an entertaining plot as Captain Kidd and his crew try to deal with the women. The more ancient men (those from earlier times, I mean) think this will be rather easy to do, but the modern men scoff and explain that women are different than they used to be and are not going to let themselves get pushed around by pirates. (This was written in 1897 — good for you, Mr. Bangs — I wish you were writing paranormal romance novels today!) Sure enough, the ladies of Hades (sorry, I couldn’t resist) are up to the task!

A House-Boat on the Styx and The Pursuit of the Houseboat are available on Kindle in the Halcyon Classics edition, which contains 48 works by John Kendrick Bangs for (at this writing) only $1.99. Both books are rather short and easily read in an afternoon. show less

Harrowby Hall is haunted by a water ghost. Every Christmas this ghost comes to a particular chamber for one hour, destroying everything in its wake because it brings so much water with it. One day, the master of the house has enough and decides to fight the ghost.

This tale starts a bit spooky, but then becomes rather funny because of the various means the master employs to get rid of the ghost. Contrary to this, though, the ending is rather cruel, which disturbed me a bit. It is an show more entertaining story, but not one of my favorites. show less

While The House-Boat on the Styx provided a good deal of pleasure, this continuation of the story is, for the most part, tedious. The "clever" banter grows old after a short time and the novelty of the set of historical characters, including Napoleon, Cleopatra, Samuel Johnson, and many many (too many) others wears out its welcome. Most problematic is the inclusion of fictional characters, such as Noah (from the Bible) or Portia (from Shakespeare). This book features Sherlock Holmes, who show more arrives to track down the villains who have made off with the house-boat and all the ladies on it. But, despite having Doyle's permission to use the character, Bangs completely wastes him. At first, Holmes says a few clever things and makes an interesting deduction or two, but after that he isn't even a pale shadow of the Holmes we know. He acts more like a befuddled Holmes impersonator. (BTW, how can we have Holmes without Watson?)

Definitely NOT recommended. show less