The Folio Book of Humour

Exclusive to the Folio Society, The Folio Book of Humour is an eclectic collection of more than 100 rib-tickling excerpts, from quick-witted Waugh and saucy Chaucer to Bridget Jones and Fleabag.

If the definition of humour is to ‘engage and delight’ the audience, then let the entertainment begin. From satire and highbrow humour to slapstick and absolute balderdash, this new and exclusive collection of humorous literary extracts gathers a comedic cast of classic and contemporary novel and play excerpts, poems, short stories and newspaper articles that will tickle the most discerning funny bone. The scathing wit of Dorothy Parker shares a stage with the satirical quips of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and David Sedaris, while Paul Beatty, Terry Pratchett and Evelyn Waugh show how the best writers effortlessly weave humour into their work. The edition is completed with artist Jamie Keenan’s suitably madcap binding and slipcase, while his quirky chapter openers offer an illustrative pause between guffaws in this exclusive new collection.

‘This isn’t my head I’ve got on now. I think this is something that used to belong to Walt Whitman.’

Dorothy Parker

PRODUCTION DETAILS

Bound in blocked cloth with a design by Jamie Keenan

Set in Maxime with Amasis display

248 pages

Decorative black & white title page spread and 8 decorative part titles

Blocked slipcase

9½˝ x 6¼˝

FROM OSCAR WILDE TO SUE TOWNSEND

United solely by the theme of humour, the eight chapters wittily plough through life, from ‘The Reality of Youth’ to ‘Death and Beyond’, with excerpts as varied as Shakespeare, Laurence Sterne, Umberto Eco, Kingsley Amis, P. G. Wodehouse and Caitlin Moran. As well as the wittiest writing by some of the world’s greatest wordsmiths, there are comedic characters from past and present that have become enmeshed in our literary culture – readers can share the humorous antics of Just William, Walter Mitty and Don Quixote before returning to the present era to cringe alongside Bridget Jones, Adrian Mole and Fleabag.

‘I love my new tapeworm. Not only am I thin, but I no longer want to smoke or glug wine.’

Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’s Diary

BINDING DESIGN BY COVER ARTIST JAMIE KEENAN

Jamie Keenan is a sought-after book cover artist and his vibrant design for this edition perfectly reflects the comedic cornucopia inside. As well as the binding, Keenan has created eight individual designs for the chapter openers and a smart black-and-white title page. An eye-catching slipcase completes this gorgeous gifting edition; a fascinating hand-picked journey through the best of literary humour.

CONTENTS

The Reality of Youth
To Love and Love Not
Man and Beast
Times of Leisure
In Foreign Lands
The Professional Age
The Muddle of Life
Death and Beyond