Knocking the Neighbors

by George Ade

George Ade (1866-1944) was an American playwright and humorist. Ade wrote for some newspapers before finding work at The Morning News. He began publishing his own work in 1896. His works include: Artie (1896), Pink Marsh (1897), Doc Horne (1899), Fables in Slang (1899), The Girl Proposition (1902), Peggy from Paris and the County Chairman (1903), The Old Town (1909), Knocking the Neighbors (1912) and Ade's Fables (1914). "Out in the Celery Belt of the Hinterland there is a stunted Flag-Station. Number Six, carrying one Day Coach and a Combination Baggage and Stock Car, would pause long enough to unload a Bucket of Oysters and take on a Crate of Eggs. "

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1912

About the author

George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright.

Ade's literary reputation rests upon his achievements as a great humorist of American character during an important era in American history: the first large wave of migration from the countryside to burgeoning cities like Chicago, where, in fact, Ade produced his best fiction. He was a practicing realist during the Age of (William Dean) Howells and a local colorist of Chicago and the Midwest. His work constitutes a vast comedy of Midwestern manners and, indeed, a comedy of late 19th-century American manners. In 1915, Sir Walter Raleigh, Oxford professor and man of letters, while on a lecture tour in America, called George Ade "the greatest living American writer."

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse's knack for metaphors and a bit of Mencken's public-spiritedness.

[Jo Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knocking the Neighbors was published in 1913. It is wonderfully snarky and funny; if you like Ogden Nash and James Thurber you'll like George Ade. Reading this book of funny fables was a little hard as it was written in the slang of the time, and many of the words made no sense to me. I remember when I first came across the phrase "23 skidoo" and was delighted (once I figured out what it meant.) Some of Ade's stories were like reading a foreign language and I felt like I needed a dictionary by my side. Don't let this review scare you off. Ade's insights into Modern Man of 1913 are hysterical. Each short tale ends with a moral.

I'm glad I discovered this clever writer. Next I'm going to attempt his Fables in Slang from 1899. I can't wait to discover some new words!