Leacock: Literary Lapses (1910)

Stephen Leacock. Literary Lapses (1910/1957) With an Afterword by Robertson Davies. Leacock’s first published work, displaying a range from nonsense to witty comment to slice of life to sharp satire. I think his reputation as the friendly, slyly comic uncle is superficial, based on his mastery of absurdly logical nonsense. Maybe it’s my curmudgeonly disposition, but I think that his satire is underrated. It’s delivered in the kind of deadpan style that disguises its bite, but his hatred for greed, hypocrisy, economic malfeasance and social cruelty is more than clear enough. I think that Sunshine Sketches and Arcadian Adventures are his greatest and most enduring works.

Davies provides an interesting account of the book’s publishing history. I enjoyed his notes on the range of Leacock’s humour.

I enjoyed this reread. This reissue is part of McClelland & Stewart’s New Canadian Library, now out of print. M&S featured Canadian art on the covers, David Milne’s “Billboards” here. Recommended. ** to ****