Leacock (1869-1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer and humorist. Between the years of 1915-25 he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world and is remembered for his light humour and wry criticisms of other people's follies. Whilst pursuing an academic career Leacock turned to writing humorous sketches to supplement his income, his stories first appearing in magazines in Canada and the US before being collected in book form. These collections containing a mixture of whimsy, parody, nonsense and satire that was never bitter were soon being published on an annual basis as his popularity grew. This collection was first published in 1919 in the wake of the First World War.