The Thurber Carnival

by Thurber, James

• ISBN13: 9780060932879
• ISBN10: 0060932872
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-14
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

James Thurber's unique ability to convey the vagaries of life in a funny, witty, and often satirical way earned him accolades as one of the finest humorists of the twentieth century. A bestseller upon its initial publication in 1945. The Thurber Carnival captures the depth and breadth of his talent. The pieces here, almost all of which first appeared in The New Yorker, include selections from such beloved classics as My World and Welcome to It, The Owl in the Attic, The Seal in the Bathroom, and Men, Women and Dogs. Thurber's take on life, society, and human nature is timeless and will continue to delight readers even as they recognize a bit of themselves in his brilliant sketches.

Author Biography

James Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1894. Famous for his humorous writings and illustrations, he was a staff member of The New Yorker for more than thirty years. He died in 1961.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xiii
Preface: My Fifty Years with James Thurber	xv
I Stories Not Collected Before in Book Form
The Lady on 142	3	(8)
The Catbird Seat	11	(10)
Memoirs of a Drudge	21	(7)
The Cane in the Corridor	28	(7)
The Secret Life of James Thurber	35	(7)
Recollections of the Gas Buggy	42	(9)
II From My World and Welcome to It
What do You Mean It was Brillig?	51	(4)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty	55	(6)
Here Lies Miss Groby	61	(4)
The Man Who Hated Moonbaum	65	(6)
The Macbeth Murder Mystery	71	(5)
A Ride with Olympy	76	(11)
III From Let Your Mind Alone!
Destructive Forces in Life	87	(7)
Sex Ex Machina	94	(7)
The Breaking up of the Winships	101	(6)
The admiral on the wheel	107	(4)
A Couple of Hamburgers	111	(5)
Bateman comes home	116	(4)
Doc Marlowe	120	(6)
The Wood Duck	126	(7)
IV From The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze
The Departure of Emma Inch	133	(6)
There's an owl in my room	139	(4)
The Topaz Cufflinks Mystery	143	(3)
Snapshot of a Dog	146	(5)
Something to say	151	(7)
The Curb in the sky	158	(4)
The Black magic of Barney Haller	162	(5)
If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox	167	(4)
The Remarkable Case of Mr. Bruhl	171	(7)
The Luck of Jad Peters	178	(6)
The Greatest man in the World	184	(8)
The Evening's at Seven	192	(4)
One is a Wanderer	196	(11)
V My Life and Hard Times, complete
Preface to a Life	207	(4)
The Night the Bed Fell	211	(7)
The car we had to Push	218	(8)
The day the Dam Broke	226	(7)
The night the ghost got in	233	(7)
More alarms at night	240	(6)
A Sequence of servants	246	(7)
The Dog that bit People	253	(8)
University Days	261	(9)
Draft Board Nights	270	(11)
A Note at the end	281	(6)
VI From Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated
The Birds and the Foxes	287	(2)
The Little Girl and the Wolf	289	(2)
The Scotty who Knew too Much	291	(2)
The Very Proper Gander	293	(2)
The Bear Who Let it Alone	295	(1)
The Shrike and the Chipmunks	296	(3)
The seal who became famous	299	(1)
The crow and the oriole	300	(3)
The moth and the star	303	(2)
The glass in the field	305	(2)
The Rabbits who caused all the trouble	307	(1)
The owl who was god	308	(2)
The unicorn in the carden	310	(2)
Excelsior	312	(6)
``Oh when I was...''	318	(2)
Barbara Frietchie	320	(8)
The sands o'dee	328	(4)
Curfew must not ring tonight	332	(9)
VII From The Owl in the Attic
The pet department	341	(22)
VIII From The Seal in the Bedroom
``With You I Have Known Peace, Lida, and Now You Say You're Going Crazy''	363	(1)
``Are You the Young Man That Bit My Daughter?''	363	(1)
``Here's a Study for You, Doctor---He Faints''	364	(1)
``Mamma Always Gets Sore and Spoils the Game for Everybody''	364	(1)
``For the Last Time---You and Your Horsie Get Away from Me and Stay Away!''	365	(1)
``Well, What's Come Over You Suddenly?''	365	(1)
``Have You People Got Any .38 Cartidges?''	366	(1)
``The Father Belonged to Some People Who Were Driving Through in a Packard''	366	(1)
``Stop Me!''	367	(1)
``I Don't Know. George Got It Somewhere''	367	(1)
``All Right, Have It Your Way---You Heard a Seal Bark''	368	(11)
The Bloodhound and the Bug	369	(10)
IX From Men, Women and Dogs
``This is Not the Real Me You're Seeing, Mrs. Clisbie''	379	(1)
``What's Come Over You Since Friday, Miss Schemke?''	379	(1)
``Hello, Darling---Woolgathering?''	380	(1)
``It's a Native Domestic Burgundy Without Any Breeding, But I Think You'll Be Amused by Its Presumption''	380	(1)
``Oh, Doctor Canroy---Look!''	381	(1)
``I'd Feel a Great Deal Easier If Her Husband Hadn't Gone to Bed''	381	(1)
``Touche!''	382	(1)
``And This Is Tom Weatherby, an Old Beau of Your Mother's. He Never Got to First Base''	382	(1)
``Perhaps This Will Refresh Your Memory''	383	(1)
``...And Keep Me a Normal, Healthy, American Girl''	383	(1)
``It's Parkins, Sir; We're 'Aving a Bit of a Time Below Stairs''	384	(1)
``Darling, I Seem to Have This Rabbit''	385	(1)
``That's My First Wife Up There, and This Is the Present Mrs. Harris''	385	(1)
``You're Not My Patient, You're My Meat, Mrs. Quist!''	386	(1)
``She Has the True Emily Dickinson Spirit Except That She Gets Fed Up Occasionally''	386	(1)
``I Said the Hounds of Spring Are on Winter's Traces---But Let It Pass, Let It Pass!''	387	(1)
``For Heaven's Sake, Why Don't You Go Outdoors and Trace Something?''	387	(1)
``I Don't Want Him to Be Comfortable If He's Going to Look Too Funny.''	388	(1)
``Yoo-hoo, It's Me and the Ape Man''	388	(1)
``Look Out! Here They Come Again!''	389	(1)
``You Wait Here and I'll Bring the Etchings Down''	389	(1)
``Well, Who Made the Magic Go Out of Our Marriage---You or Me?''	390	(1)
House and Woman	390	(1)
``Well, If I Called the Wrong Number, Why Did You Answer the Phone?''	391	(1)
``This Gentleman Was Kind Enough to See Me Home, Darling''	391	(1)
``I Come From Haunts of Coot and Hern!''	392	(1)
``Well, I'm Disenchanted, Too. We're All Disenchanted''	392	(1)
``What Do You Want to Be Inscrutable for, Marcia?''	393	(1)
``You Said a Moment Ago That Everybody You Look at Seems to Be a Rabbit. Now Just What Do You Mean by That, Mrs. Sprague?''	393	(1)
``Why, I Never Dreamed Your Union Had Been Blessed With Issue!''	394	(1)
``Have You Seen My Pistol, Honey-bun?''	394	(1)
``It's Our Own Story Exactly! He Bold as a Hawk, She Soft as the Dawn''	395	(1)
``You and Your Permonitions!''	396	(1)
``All Right, All Right, Try It That Way! Go Ahead and Try It That Way!''	397	(1)
``Well, It Makes a Difference to Me!''	397	(1)
``There's No Use You Trying to Save Me, My Good Man''	398	(1)
Man in Tree	399	(1)
``What Have You Done With Dr. Millmoss?''	400	(13)
The War Between Men and Women	401	(12)
About James Thurber	413	(10)
The Thurber Carnival, 1945	423