The Thurber Carnival

James Thurber

• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9780063075771
• Print ISBN:
  9780060932879
• Subtopic: Literary Essays

"An authentic American genius . . . Mr. Thurber belongs in the great lines of American humorists that includes Mark Twain and Ring Lardner." — The Philadelphia Inquirer

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 of his talent and the breadth of his wit. The stories compiled here, almost all of which first appeared in The New Yorker, are from his uproarious and candid collection My World and Welcome to It—including the American classic "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'—as well as from 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.

"One of the absolutely essential books of our time." — Saturday Review of Literature

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface: My Fifty Years with James Thurber
• I. Stories Not Collected Before in Book Form:
• II. From My World and Welcome to It:
• III. From Let Your Mind Alone!:
• IV. From The Middle-Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze:
• V. My Life and Hard Times, complete:
• VI. From Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated:
• VII. From The Owl in the Attic:
• VIII. From The Seal in the Bedroom:
• IX. From Men, Women and Dogs:
• About James Thurber
• The Thurber Carnival, 1945
• Also by James Thurber
• Copyright
• About the Publisher