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Great Irish Humor
Great Irish Humor
333 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Peter Haining
333 books99 followersPeter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 28, 2015
"Great" isn't an accurate adjective for this title. Insipid maybe. Or humdrum. The most exciting part was reaching the end of each irksome narrative and then breathing a sigh of relief it was over. After each story, I would hope that the next one wouldn’t be so bad, that is until I suffered through one too many disappointing stories. It got to the point where I was too antsy at the start of each new one to be able to look forward to whatever lie ahead, because I anticipated each to be a letdown.
I had been attracted to this book because of love and pride for my Irish ancestry, instilled in me by my family, especially my red-headed grandmother who had her shillelagh hanging from the fireplace and who could dance a jig like no other. This was probably why the book was such a downer for me; I wrongly expected I would feel an automatic affinity for the stories and their characters, but that turned out to be rare. There were a few that I laughed out loud with, but only two I absolutely loved: a satire by Jonathan Swift entitled “A Modest Proposal” and "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde, a short story.
Despite the stories I did enjoy, and there was a handful of them, I can’t recommend this book for the collection that it is. Even the short author biographies that the editor, Peter Haining, placed before each tale were not done well; Salient details were left out of some bios, while others contained superfluous tidbits. However, most of the illustrations were engrossing and added something beneficial to the overall reading of the book. It’s just a shame there weren’t more of them to make the whole experience better.
I had been attracted to this book because of love and pride for my Irish ancestry, instilled in me by my family, especially my red-headed grandmother who had her shillelagh hanging from the fireplace and who could dance a jig like no other. This was probably why the book was such a downer for me; I wrongly expected I would feel an automatic affinity for the stories and their characters, but that turned out to be rare. There were a few that I laughed out loud with, but only two I absolutely loved: a satire by Jonathan Swift entitled “A Modest Proposal” and "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde, a short story.
Despite the stories I did enjoy, and there was a handful of them, I can’t recommend this book for the collection that it is. Even the short author biographies that the editor, Peter Haining, placed before each tale were not done well; Salient details were left out of some bios, while others contained superfluous tidbits. However, most of the illustrations were engrossing and added something beneficial to the overall reading of the book. It’s just a shame there weren’t more of them to make the whole experience better.
August 2, 2015
Great funny examples of Irish wit in their writing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews