What do you think?
Rate this book
Archy's Life of Mehitabel
Archy is a cockroach with the soul of a free verse poet who, by headbutting the typewriter keys, writes these poems that chronicle the adventures of his friend Mehitabel, a cat with the soul of Cleopatra. Don Marquis' creations have been constantly in print since 1934.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
3 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Don Marquis
129 books60 followersDonald Robert Perry "Don" Marquis was a newspaper columnist as well as a playwright, novelist, and poet, best known for his "Archy and Mehitabel" free verse and his "Old Soak" anti-Prohibition play.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 27, 2015
I'm not into free verses, but I enjoyed this thoroughly, which should say something about it.
July 27, 2021
What an absolute joy of a read.
Written from the perspective of a cockroach, Archy, who relays the stories a cat named Mehitabel tells him.
Written without punctuation (because the cockroach can't reach the shift key on the typewriter), the writing is more like free verse poetry than it is prose. But it's so nicely written and has a nice warm rhythm to it.
It doesn't take itself too seriously at all and the sardonic sense of humour feels very modern despite the book being nearly 100 years old.
Another one of those books I'd recommend reading in one sitting cause of how short and sweet it is.
Written from the perspective of a cockroach, Archy, who relays the stories a cat named Mehitabel tells him.
Written without punctuation (because the cockroach can't reach the shift key on the typewriter), the writing is more like free verse poetry than it is prose. But it's so nicely written and has a nice warm rhythm to it.
It doesn't take itself too seriously at all and the sardonic sense of humour feels very modern despite the book being nearly 100 years old.
Another one of those books I'd recommend reading in one sitting cause of how short and sweet it is.
July 22, 2018
As hilarious as it is wise
December 22, 2021
A masterful mix of absurdity, hilarity, and (surprisingly) deep philosophical insight.
A must read!
A must read!
Read
March 7, 2024oh, brilliant. the perfect good combination of funny and clever and strange and sad.
June 1, 2024
clever. cute. cockroach and cat. toujours gai.
May 21, 2025
Such a cute book with good meanings behind the story itself
October 8, 2020
Not sure when the edition I have was published,. My 1st husband loved Mehitable. Archie used to type out verses, serialized in the New York Herold Tribune and Evening Sun, also Colliers' Weekly. Unevenly worth reading.
"the wood louse sits on a splinter
and sings to the rising sap
ain t it awful how winter
lingers in spring times lap"
"honesty is a good
thing but
it is not profitable to
its possessor
unless it is
kept under control
if you are not
honest at all
everybody hates you
and if you are
absolutely honest
you get martyred"
"a good many
failures are happy
because they didn t
realize it many a
cockroach believes
himself as beautiful
as a butterfly
have a heart o have
a heart and
let them dream on"
"boss i believe
that the
millennium will
get here some day
but i could
compile quite a list
of persons
who will have
to go
first"
"the wood louse sits on a splinter
and sings to the rising sap
ain t it awful how winter
lingers in spring times lap"
"honesty is a good
thing but
it is not profitable to
its possessor
unless it is
kept under control
if you are not
honest at all
everybody hates you
and if you are
absolutely honest
you get martyred"
"a good many
failures are happy
because they didn t
realize it many a
cockroach believes
himself as beautiful
as a butterfly
have a heart o have
a heart and
let them dream on"
"boss i believe
that the
millennium will
get here some day
but i could
compile quite a list
of persons
who will have
to go
first"
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews