David Timson

Evidently fart jokes and double entendres have been with us as long as recorded humor exists. This book is heavy on British humor, some of which works for me and some doesn't. There are just a few women or Americans included. Mark Twain, is of course witty as ever, Jane Austin, who of course can be quite humorous. Dorothy Parker was a big disappointment. Hers is a story about a woman who is asked to dance by a clumsy man, and she is so mean spirited to me it destroyed all the humor. I guess show more knowing when to hold back was not her strong suit. The collection ends with Oscar Wilde's entire story The Remarkable Rocket, a real gem. show less

This anthology is not necessarily a representative selection of humor in English writing from the last thousand years, but it features a curated variety of generally-funny writing alongside thoughtful (though brief) commentary and context on the selections.

I don't think very many people would find every piece uproarious, but as someone with historical knowledge of the times when the jokes were originally made I found them all quite interesting. My favorites were the Anglo-Saxon riddles which show more opened the book and the romantic story purportedly written by a 9-year old a century ago. show less

There were quite a few new-to-me stories in this volume of Sherlock Holmes stories. My favorite was the Lion's Mane. I must admit a Google search was done when the story was over. The story written by the narrator, David Timson, was okay. It was funny and didn't take away from the rest of the stories. Overall, a great collection of stories.

There were quite a few new-to-me stories in this volume of Sherlock Holmes stories. My favorite was the Lion's Mane. I must admit a Google search was done when the story was over. The story written by the narrator, David Timson, was okay. It was funny and didn't take away from the rest of the stories. Overall, a great collection of stories.