John Kendrick BangsCritiques

FROM AMAZON: John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) has earned comparison with Mark Twain and L. Frank Baum for his humorous fantasies, including "A Houseboat on the Styx" and these wildly adventurous "Andiron Tales" -- featuring talking andirons, bellows and fire-pokers . . . and a voyage to the crescent Moon.

FROM PROJECT GUTENBURG: The booming of Acre Hill -- The strange misadventures of an organ -- The plot that failed -- The base ingratitude of Barkis, M.D. -- The utilitarian Mr. Carraway -- The book sales of Mr. Peters -- The valor of Brinley -- Wilkins -- The mayor's lamps -- The balance of power -- Jarley's experiment -- Jarley's Thanksgiving -- Harry and Maude and I, also James -- An affinitive romance -- Mrs. Upton's device...

This is a really witty and funny book, and I enjoyed it very much. It's more of a booklet, really, and easily read within a few hours. :)

Book from a matched binding set (7) removed from library collection. Set was bound in green cloth, pub 1902, illustrated, matching - only decoration on book spine. Very fragile condition.

Nice Christmas stories for young children & some poems. Arthur Beecher's illustrations were excellent.

This is going to sound rude but I just had a hard time with this format and was not a fan of the story. I gave up on this book, I try to do that as little as possible. Seemed like the author was so busy making witty quips about historical figures there was no actual story. Or at least I just never got to it.

The writing flows logically, but there is not much plot. The language is so stilted, it is hard to get through the pages. I am only giving this two stars because the writer was technically able. Perhaps someone in middle school would enjoy this. This book was a chore to even try to read.

This is a collection of very short stories, but rather long sentences. The son of Sherlock Holmes is shown to be more appreciated for his abilities to slip in and out of places unnoticed than for his deductive abilities here. He is not ON cases so much as CREATING them, to get cash. I liked it for its interesting transitional references--between the 1880s of Sherlock Holmes and the modern world of today, I learned a few interesting things about clubs, about recorders, and about 1905 New York City! Capital. But story-wise, it's really over before it's begun, for each tale.

While The House-Boat on the Styx provided a good deal of pleasure, this continuation of the story is, for the most part, tedious. The "clever" banter grows old after a short time and the novelty of the set of historical characters, including Napoleon, Cleopatra, Samuel Johnson, and many many (too many) others wears out its welcome. Most problematic is the inclusion of fictional characters, such as Noah (from the Bible) or Portia (from Shakespeare). This book features Sherlock Holmes, who arrives to track down the villains who have made off with the house-boat and all the ladies on it. But, despite having Doyle's permission to use the character, Bangs completely wastes him. At first, Holmes says a few clever things and makes an interesting deduction or two, but after that he isn't even a pale shadow of the Holmes we know. He acts more like a befuddled Holmes impersonator. (BTW, how can we have Holmes without Watson?)

Definitely NOT recommended.½

This is a collection of very short stories, but rather long sentences. The son of Sherlock Holmes is shown to be more appreciated for his abilities to slip in and out of places unnoticed than for his deductive abilities here. He is not ON cases so much as CREATING them, to get cash. I liked it for its interesting transitional references--between the 1880s of Sherlock Holmes and the modern world of today, I learned a few interesting things about clubs, about recorders, and about 1905 New York City! Capital. But story-wise, it's really over before it's begun, for each tale.

An exceedingly pleasant, diverting book that probably can't be written anymore, because not enough people are well educated enough to appreciate it. The shades of the imminent dead converse and debate in their private club on the title vessel. Participants include a very defensive Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Socrates, Confucius, Baron von Munchhausen (with his constant tall tales), Samuel Johnson and his inevitable Boswell, and others. Women are excluded from the vessel and the club, but reside on the shore--Queen Elizabeth and Socrates' wife prominent among them. The conversations are quite funny at times, and usually interesting. The author is wise to keep the proceedings short, however, as this type of thing can't be extended ad infinitum. Very enjoyable.½

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American humorist who edited some popular American magazines such as Harper’s Weekly and Puck. His satirical novella A House-Boat on the Styx is responsible for the term Bangsian Fantasy, which refers to stories about famous people in the afterlife (e.g., Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld series).

In A House-Boat on the Styx, Charon the ferryman is dismayed to discover that he’s got some competition in the transportation business — a posh new riverboat has appeared on the Styx and there’s no way his craft can compete. His fears of bankruptcy are relieved, though, when he’s asked to be the janitor of the new boat which belongs to an exclusive men’s club run by Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh and his colleagues spend their time playing cards and pool, smoking tobacco, and hosting fights (e.g., Goliath vs. Samson) and debates (Noah vs. P.T. Barnum: Which animals should have been saved from the flood?). They also have occasional business meetings in which they discuss agenda items such as whether or not there should be a Ladies’ Day on the boat (yes, but Lucretia Borgia and Delilah are not invited) and whether poets should have their own Poets’ Corner (yes, because then they won’t be lounging across all the chairs, scribbling drafts on the pool tables, and boring everyone else with their recitations).

There’s almost no action in A House-Boat on the Styx and no need for characterization since all of the characters are already known to us. The story is almost all dialogue as, for example, Shakespeare defends the authorship of his plays, Solomon’s Proverbs are called a hack-job, Confucius complains about the poets, the logistics of all of Henry VIII’s wives attending Ladies’ Day is discussed, Baron Münchausen is accused of making up stories, Sir Walter Raleigh is discovered to be setting up his witticisms so his biographer can record them, Jonah insists that his whale is copyrighted, and Eve laments that she never gets invited to Queen Elizabeth’s parties because she has no pedigree.

Much of this dialogue is very funny, but it occasionally comes off as a stand-up comedy routine when the jokes are transparently set up:

Sir Walter Raleigh: …Queen Elizabeth could have married a hundred times over if she had wished. I know I lost my head there completely.
John Dryden: That shows, Sir Walter, how wrong you are. You lost your head to King James. Hi! Shakespeare, here’s a man doesn’t know who chopped his head off.

Of course, it will be helpful to be familiar with these pre-20th-century characters and their “issues,” but most adults will understand most of the allusions and the others can be easily investigated on the internet. I enjoyed the banter, but it was non-stop, so I was ready for it to end when it did. However, at the very end of A House-Boat on the Styx, some action finally did occur when Captain Kidd showed up. So now I’m eager to read the next installment, The Pursuit of the Houseboat.

A House-Boat on the Styx and The Pursuit of the Houseboat are available on Kindle in the Halcyon Classics edition, which contains 48 works by John Kendrick Bangs for (at this writing) only $1.99. Both books are rather short and easily read in an afternoon.

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

At the end of John Kendrick Bangs’ A House-boat on the Styx, the men went ashore to watch Goliath fight Samson, leaving the houseboat untended. So the ladies, headed by Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth, took the opportunity to trespass. While they were playing pool below decks, the pirate Captain Kidd and his crew, unaware that the ladies were aboard, hijacked the boat and set out for Europe so they could do some looting.

As The Pursuit of the Houseboat opens, everyone is discovering what’s just happened. When the men realize that the boat is missing, they have no idea how to find it but, fortunately, Sherlock Holmes appears and offers his services. Meanwhile, the pirates and the ladies are shocked and horrified to find themselves sharing the houseboat. The rest of the plot involves the pirates and the women trying to outwit each other.

The Pursuit of the Houseboat is more fun than A House-boat on the Styx — it doesn’t feel quite so much like a series of history lessons. There is still some slightly clunky humor that depends on understanding the historical allusions (e.g., Delilah is asked to fetch her scissors so she can cut the rope holding the anchor, and Queen Elizabeth tries to be discreet about her relationship to Sir Walter Raleigh), but The Pursuit of the Houseboat actually has an entertaining plot as Captain Kidd and his crew try to deal with the women. The more ancient men (those from earlier times, I mean) think this will be rather easy to do, but the modern men scoff and explain that women are different than they used to be and are not going to let themselves get pushed around by pirates. (This was written in 1897 — good for you, Mr. Bangs — I wish you were writing paranormal romance novels today!) Sure enough, the ladies of Hades (sorry, I couldn’t resist) are up to the task!

A House-Boat on the Styx and The Pursuit of the Houseboat are available on Kindle in the Halcyon Classics edition, which contains 48 works by John Kendrick Bangs for (at this writing) only $1.99. Both books are rather short and easily read in an afternoon.

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American humorist who edited some popular American magazines such as Harper’s Weekly and Puck. His satirical novella A House-Boat on the Styx is responsible for the term Bangsian Fantasy, which refers to stories about famous people in the afterlife (e.g., Philip Jose Farmer’s RIVERWORLD series).

In A House-Boat on the Styx, Charon the ferryman is dismayed to discover that he’s got some competition in the transportation business — a posh new riverboat has appeared on the Styx and there’s no way his craft can compete. His fears of bankruptcy are relieved, though, when he’s asked to be the janitor of the new boat which belongs to an ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/a-house-boat-on-the-styx/

Amazing little book of old fashioned Christmas stories written in the early 1900's. Christmas magic from long ago that is becoming less common in our world today when men were men, women were women and mankind actually cared about eachother. Must read!!!!

Brilliant - captures E.W. Hornung's style perfectly. It's a wonderful send-up of early 20th century society - read between the lines of the Rockerbilts, the Gasters, and the Gushingtons.

Enjoyable, light-hearted. Downloaded from Gutenburg

Not nearly as good as the first two houseboat novels.

The first in the Houseboat series, followed by Pursuit of the Houseboat and The Encchanted Typewriter. Moderately funny but episodic; on the whole I prefer Pursuit.

This is in the Houseboat on the Styx series --I believe third after the original Houseboat and Pursuit of the Houseboat. I read it long ago and recall it as being amusing but episodic. It does include a Sherlock Holmes piece

I actually liked this better than the original Houseboat on the Styx, as it has a more coherent plot --the houseboat is missing and the shades are pursuig it under the leadership of Sherlock Holmes (during the period when he was presumed dead)

meh½

This is a collection of four touching short stories focused on the "spirit of Christmas." Originally published in 1912 each story shows people discovering how to be charitable at Christmas through love of others.

Quite humourous, made me smile. I imagined some sort of biblical Flintstones scene while reading it.

on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the original pub

12mo. 4.5"x, xii7", 265,[6]p., ads, with 19 plates in "cluding frontis, numerous text illustrations, beige cloth illustrated black & red. A tight copy, no marks, tears or creases. Pages crisp, clean and white.

A farcical comical tale by the prominent American humorist, editor of "Puck" magazine.