Frenzied Fiction

From the cave man to Santa Claus; spies, know-it-alls, and journalists: all are fair game for Leacock’s special brand of humor. He touches on the changes time has brought about in the city, education, and work habits. Among the other topics in this work are nature, fishing, gardening, success, and spirits--both of the departed and of the variety Prohibition prohibited. (5 hr 1 min)

Chapters

My Revelations as a Spy	20:11	Read by Debra Lynn
Father Knickerbocker: A Fantasy	22:07	Read by Debra Lynn
The Prophet in Our Midst	10:57	Read by Debra Lynn
Personal Adventures in the Spirit World	20:23	Read by Debra Lynn
The Sorrows of a Summer Guest	22:47	Read by Debra Lynn
To Nature and Back Again	19:12	Read by Debra Lynn
The Cave-Man as He is	15:42	Read by Debra Lynn
Ideal Interviews--	41:44	Read by Debra Lynn
The New Education	11:57	Read by Debra Lynn
The Errors of Santa Claus	7:47	Read by Debra Lynn
Lost in New York	9:31	Read by Debra Lynn
This Strenuous Age	8:15	Read by Debra Lynn
The Old, Old Story of How Five Men Went Fishing	15:33	Read by Debra Lynn
Back from the Land	18:08	Read by Debra Lynn
The Perplexity Column as Done by the Jaded Journalist	5:28	Read by Debra Lynn
Simple Stories of Success, or How to Succeed in Life	13:32	Read by Debra Lynn
In Dry Toronto	19:08	Read by Debra Lynn
Merry Christmas	18:51	Read by Debra Lynn

Reviews

Mixed Bag

(3 stars)

Janelle

Frenzied Fiction was rather a mixed bag of stories, some rating four stars and others barely scraping in at two. Most of the stories were satires of different genres of humour, with varying degrees of success. The book was published in 1917, so there were a number of references to the war, as well as to prohibition, which must have been very topical at the time. The final story was quite a divergence from Leacock's usual emphasis on humour, and it really brought home to me the feelings of those who lived through the Great War. This final story deserves fives stars for it's creative depiction of loss and hope to a war worn audience. Many thanks to the reader; she was quite good, although the sound quality was lacking.