Humorists: From Hogarth to Noel Coward
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The author of the masterly volumes Intellectuals, Creators, and Heroes returns with a collection of biographical portraits of the greatest humorists and wits in history. In Intellectuals, Paul Johnson offered a fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In Creators, he examined a host of outstanding and prolific creative spirits. And in Heroes, he brought together a galaxy of commanding figures from the annals of Western history. Now Johnson turns his impressive intellect and piercing insight to the finest wits of the Western world. His is a selective survey across history and includes a diverse cast of legendary humorists who got a grand kick out of life, including Benjamin Franklin and the Marx Brothers, Charles Dickens and Damon Runyon, W. C. Fields and Samuel Johnson, William Hogarth and James Thurber. Including darkest humor, broad satire, bawdy wit, biting sarcasm, and more, this entertaining and erudite collection showcases some of our sharpest minds reflecting on the human condition's follies, pretensions, and foibles with that greatest of gifts: humor. The New York Times - Dwight Garner …warmly appealing if slightly dotty…This book's long view, and its deep eccentricities, are what give it a burnished glow. You'll want to consume it with good Scotch and (what the hell) maybe even a pipe…
Introduction1 HogarthThe Grand Old Master of Chaos 12 Benjamin FranklinFounding Father of American Laughs 173 Dr. JohnsonMelancholy Merriment 314 Thomas RowlandsonBottoms Up! 455 DickensNothing So Odd as Life 576 Toulouse-LautrecMaster-Monster 777 G.K. ChestertonA Living, Talking Gargoyle 978 Damon RunyonGuys, Dolls, and the Puppet Master 1139 W.C. FieldsThe Dong with the Luminous Nose 12310 Charlie ChaplinSupple, Subtle, and Sentimental 13711 Laurel And HardyEra of Good Fooling 15312 The Marx BrothersSecond Law of Thermodynamics 16513 James ThurberRaising a Laugh by Accident 17314 Noel Coward, Nancy Mitford, And Class 193Further Reading 215Index 219
