Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town

Stephen Leacock built the little town of Mariposa on the shore of Lake Wissanotti and filled it with barbers, bankers, hotel keepers, undertakers, and clergymen whose small dramas he treats as grand comedy. Loosely modelled on Orillia, Ontario, where he summered, Mariposa stands in for every self-important small town, and Leacock pokes at its boosterism, its church rivalries, and its financial schemes with an affection that never quite curdles into cruelty. The sinking of the excursion steamer Mariposa Belle in a few feet of water is a set piece of pure comic timing. First published in 1912, it remains one of the enduring works of Canadian humour and Leacock’s best-loved book. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.