The Jest Book
- Downloads
- Under 100
- Pages
- 398
About this book
A sharp reply, an awkward compliment and a pun on a familiar name can each fill an entry in Mark Lemon's collection of British wit. The Jest Book gathers seventeen hundred short jests, anecdotes and sayings, mixing older material with newer pieces drawn from books and conversation. Lemon's preface considers how jokes travel between generations and how the same remark comes to be credited to different speakers.
The entries move from noble households and barbers' shops to law courts and the theatre. Pope answers a prince with a flattering comparison, while Garrick and Foote exchange a theatrical tease. Short verse appears alongside dialogue, and many of the jokes depend on double meanings or a speaker's sudden reversal of an argument. Readers interested in the history of everyday humor will find a varied record of conversational timing, social pretensions and the small misunderstandings that make a punch line work.
About the author
More from this genre
See all- C Christie, the King's ServantChristie, the King's Servant
- S A Set of RoguesA Set of Rogues
- P Peter's MotherPeter's Mother
- H The Hunt Ball MysteryThe Hunt Ball Mystery
- T That Scholarship BoyThat Scholarship Boy
- G Girls of the ForestGirls of the Forest
Discussion
No comments yet. Share a thought, a question or a favourite passage.
Copyright concern? Read our DMCA policy
Read or download
Public domain book This work is in the public domain and free of copyright. Anyone may read, download and share it.
- PDF 2.8 MB
- EPUB 554 KB
Downloads start right away. How to open EPUB on your phone
Book facts
- Author
- Mark Lemon
- Pages
- 398
- Language
- English
- Genre
- British Classics
- Formats
- PDF, EPUB, Read online