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The Grey Parrot and Other Stories
W.W. Jacobs delighted in finding unlikely humour in everyday situations and observations, and these tales succeed in raising a laugh from the most mundane of scenarios. In 'The Grey Parrot', a sailor buys a parrot for his wife, whom he suspects isn't faithful in his absence, hoping that the bird will inadvertently repeat anything untoward it hears. Unfortunately for him, the parrot exceeds his expectations, and it's not only his wife who is left blushing.
This volume contains a careful selection of the very best stories from Jacobs's 150-strong repertory, and includes well-known standalone pieces such as 'The Monkey's Paw', as well as accounts of raucous dockside dalliances and tightly woven tales of poacher Bob Petty's crimes against the unlikely cast of an Essex village. Showcasing a unique assortment of stories spanning his writing career, this edition hopes to shine a light on a hugely talented writer who inspired many of the literary giants we now consider masters of the genre.
This volume contains a careful selection of the very best stories from Jacobs's 150-strong repertory, and includes well-known standalone pieces such as 'The Monkey's Paw', as well as accounts of raucous dockside dalliances and tightly woven tales of poacher Bob Petty's crimes against the unlikely cast of an Essex village. Showcasing a unique assortment of stories spanning his writing career, this edition hopes to shine a light on a hugely talented writer who inspired many of the literary giants we now consider masters of the genre.
- GenresFiction
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
About the author
W.W. Jacobs
1,010 books165 followersWilliam Wymark Jacobs was an English author of short stories and novels. Quite popular in his lifetime primarily for his amusing maritime tales of life along the London docks (many of them humorous as well as sardonic in tone). Today he is best known for a few short works of horror fiction. One being "The Monkey's Paw"(published 1902). It has in its own right become a well-known and widely anthologized classic.
~Literary Works
Many Cargoes (1896)
The Skipper's Wooing (1897)
Sea Urchins (1898) /aka More Cargoes (US) (1898)
A Master of Craft (1900)
The Monkey's Paw (1902)
The Toll House (1902)
Light Freights (1901)
At Sunwich Port (1902)
The Barge (1902)
Odd Craft (1903) : contains The Money Box, basis of Laurel and Hardy film Our Relations (1935)
Dialstone Lane (1902)
Captain's All (1905)
Short Cruises (1907)
Salthaven (1908)
Sailors' Knots (1909)
The Toll House (1909)
Ship's Company (1911)
Night Watches (1914)
The Castaways (1916)
Deep Waters (1919)
Sea Whispers (1926)
~Literary Works
Many Cargoes (1896)
The Skipper's Wooing (1897)
Sea Urchins (1898) /aka More Cargoes (US) (1898)
A Master of Craft (1900)
The Monkey's Paw (1902)
The Toll House (1902)
Light Freights (1901)
At Sunwich Port (1902)
The Barge (1902)
Odd Craft (1903) : contains The Money Box, basis of Laurel and Hardy film Our Relations (1935)
Dialstone Lane (1902)
Captain's All (1905)
Short Cruises (1907)
Salthaven (1908)
Sailors' Knots (1909)
The Toll House (1909)
Ship's Company (1911)
Night Watches (1914)
The Castaways (1916)
Deep Waters (1919)
Sea Whispers (1926)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 21, 2019
I didn't really enjoy the stories in this book, so I rated it two stars and moved on. The next day I realized that my rating is the first (and at this time, only) rating on the site.
Two star average?! Because of me? Even Atlas Shrugged has a 3.6. I actually lost sleep thinking what if someone who might enjoy this book doesn't read it now because of my naive opinion? That can't stand. So now it's four stars. Four stars with an asterisk.
I bought this book because I wanted to read The Monkey's Paw and more stories like it. The Monkey's Paw is in here and it's five enthusiastic stars and for sure worth the purchase price. The other stories though, and (to its credit) the book jacket tried its best to warn me, are not like The Monkey's Paw at all. Most of them are kind of cute, humorous, stories about either sailors or domestic life in English villages. One or two are about a rascally poacher. They're all kind of like G-rated dad jokes.
Have you ever heard your grandpa tell a story that starts out sounding like it's a criticism of your grandma, but then the punchline is that he's actually an oafish buffoon and your grandma is a saint for putting up with him for all these years? And it's all told within her earshot and he keeps winking at you while he tells it? And afterwards she gives him a chaste kiss and calls him a cheeky scamp? All the stories have that kind of vibe. Pretty tame, a little antiquated in that "women are the fairer sex" type of way, but all very innocent and good natured. My Oma would probably really like this book.
A few of them did coax a genuine chuckle from me. The two poacher stories were enjoyable. There was one I really liked that was a variation of the old "guy has a crush on a girl so he hires a stranger to rob her so he can save her and look tough" classic. The stranger doesn't trust the main guy not to bail on him if he's caught, so he asks him to write a note clearing him of responsibility. Here's the note:
This is to give notice that I, George Brenn, being of sound mind and body, have told Ned Travers to pretend to be a burglar at Mrs. Waters's. He ain't a burglar, and I shall be outside all the time. It's all above board and shipshape.
(Signed) George Brenn
Want to know what happens to him? Buy the book and read on! You can expect a little twist at the end of every story, but 100 years has gone by since their writing, so don't expect any of them to really surprise you. (less)
Two star average?! Because of me? Even Atlas Shrugged has a 3.6. I actually lost sleep thinking what if someone who might enjoy this book doesn't read it now because of my naive opinion? That can't stand. So now it's four stars. Four stars with an asterisk.
I bought this book because I wanted to read The Monkey's Paw and more stories like it. The Monkey's Paw is in here and it's five enthusiastic stars and for sure worth the purchase price. The other stories though, and (to its credit) the book jacket tried its best to warn me, are not like The Monkey's Paw at all. Most of them are kind of cute, humorous, stories about either sailors or domestic life in English villages. One or two are about a rascally poacher. They're all kind of like G-rated dad jokes.
Have you ever heard your grandpa tell a story that starts out sounding like it's a criticism of your grandma, but then the punchline is that he's actually an oafish buffoon and your grandma is a saint for putting up with him for all these years? And it's all told within her earshot and he keeps winking at you while he tells it? And afterwards she gives him a chaste kiss and calls him a cheeky scamp? All the stories have that kind of vibe. Pretty tame, a little antiquated in that "women are the fairer sex" type of way, but all very innocent and good natured. My Oma would probably really like this book.
A few of them did coax a genuine chuckle from me. The two poacher stories were enjoyable. There was one I really liked that was a variation of the old "guy has a crush on a girl so he hires a stranger to rob her so he can save her and look tough" classic. The stranger doesn't trust the main guy not to bail on him if he's caught, so he asks him to write a note clearing him of responsibility. Here's the note:
This is to give notice that I, George Brenn, being of sound mind and body, have told Ned Travers to pretend to be a burglar at Mrs. Waters's. He ain't a burglar, and I shall be outside all the time. It's all above board and shipshape.
(Signed) George Brenn
Want to know what happens to him? Buy the book and read on! You can expect a little twist at the end of every story, but 100 years has gone by since their writing, so don't expect any of them to really surprise you. (less)
May 4, 2021
An excellent selection of stories but ones that require a certain taste for enjoyment. As a horror enthusiast I was massively disappointed that Jacobs chose not to write more stories in the vein of 'The Monkey's Paw'.
Want to Read
December 9, 2023Read so far:
from Many Cargoes (1896):
A Love Passage
The Skipper of the Osprey
***
The Rival Beauties--3
*A Change of Treatment
from Sea Urchins, aka More Cargoes (1897):
Rule of Three
An Intervention
The Grey Parrot
from Light Freights (1901):
Twin Spirits
Sam's Boy
*Jerry Bundler
A Will and a Way
The Peacemaker
***
A Garden Plot--3
from The Lady of the Barge (1902):
The Monkey's Paw--3
The Well--3
Cupboard Love
In the Library--2
*Captain Rogers
A Mixed Proposal
An Adulteration Act
***
*The Lady of the Barge
A Tiger's Skin
from Odd Craft (1903):
Blundell's Improvement
Bill's Lapse
*The Persecution of Bob Pretty
The Third String
***
The Money Box--2
from Captains All (1905):
Captains All
The Boatswain's Mate
***
The White Cat--3
from Short Cruises (1907):
The Changeling
Mixed Relations
His Lordship
Her Uncle
from Sailors' Knots (1909):
Matrimonial Openings
The Toll House--3
Head of the Family
from Ship's Company (1911)
Fairy Gold
Watchdogs
The Bequest
***
Fine Feathers--3
from Night Watches (1914):
Back to Back
Keeping Watch
Stepping Backwards
The Three Sisters--2
*The Vigil
Easy Money
from Deep Waters (1919):
Made to Measure
Husbandry
***
from Sea Whispers (1926):
*His Brother's Keeper
The Interruption--2
from Many Cargoes (1896):
A Love Passage
The Skipper of the Osprey
***
The Rival Beauties--3
*A Change of Treatment
from Sea Urchins, aka More Cargoes (1897):
Rule of Three
An Intervention
The Grey Parrot
from Light Freights (1901):
Twin Spirits
Sam's Boy
*Jerry Bundler
A Will and a Way
The Peacemaker
***
A Garden Plot--3
from The Lady of the Barge (1902):
The Monkey's Paw--3
The Well--3
Cupboard Love
In the Library--2
*Captain Rogers
A Mixed Proposal
An Adulteration Act
***
*The Lady of the Barge
A Tiger's Skin
from Odd Craft (1903):
Blundell's Improvement
Bill's Lapse
*The Persecution of Bob Pretty
The Third String
***
The Money Box--2
from Captains All (1905):
Captains All
The Boatswain's Mate
***
The White Cat--3
from Short Cruises (1907):
The Changeling
Mixed Relations
His Lordship
Her Uncle
from Sailors' Knots (1909):
Matrimonial Openings
The Toll House--3
Head of the Family
from Ship's Company (1911)
Fairy Gold
Watchdogs
The Bequest
***
Fine Feathers--3
from Night Watches (1914):
Back to Back
Keeping Watch
Stepping Backwards
The Three Sisters--2
*The Vigil
Easy Money
from Deep Waters (1919):
Made to Measure
Husbandry
***
from Sea Whispers (1926):
*His Brother's Keeper
The Interruption--2
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews