A House Boat In The Styx

The book begins with Charon, ferryman of the Styx startled--and annoyed--by the arrival of a house boat on his mystical river. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that he is to be appointed the boat's janitor. What follows are eleven stories set on the house boat. There is no central theme; each chapter features various souls from history and mythology, and in the twelfth chapter the house boat disappears, seguing into the sequel, Pursuit of the House-Boat.

The souls of the dead must cross the Styx, to pass into a Hades-like afterworld. In the first of the twelve stories compiled in A House-Boat on the Styx, the man who ferries the souls across sees a houseboat floating downriver and fears for his livelihood. He is appointed janitor on the boat, where the remaining stories take place between characters from history and mythology.

The premise of the book is that everyone who has ever died (up to the time in which the book is set, which seems to be about the time of its publication) has gone to Styx, the river that circles the underworld. The book begins with Charon, ferryman of the Styx being startled - and annoyed - by the arrival of a houseboat on the Styx. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that he is actually to be appointed the boat's janitor. What follows are eleven more stories (for a total of twelve) which are set on the house boat. There is no central theme, and the purpose of the book appears to be as a literary thought experiment to see what would happen if various famous dead people were put in the same room with each other. Each chapter is a short story featuring various souls from history and mythology. In the twelfth chapter the house boat disappears, leading into the sequel, The Pursuit of the House-Boat.

The premise of the book is that everyone who's ever died (up to the time of its publication) has gone to Styx, the river that circles the underworld. The book begins with the ferryman Charon being startled & annoyed by the arrival of a houseboat on the Styx. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that he is actually to be appointed its janitor. What follows are 11 more stories which are set on the houseboat. There's no central theme. The purpose appears to be as a literary thought experiment to see what would happen if various famous dead people were put in the same room with each other. Each chapter is a short story featuring various souls from history & mythology. In the 12th chapter the houseboat disappears, leading into a sequel, Pursuit of the House-Boat. The book sold for $1.25 in 1895.

The souls of the dead must cross the Styx, to pass into a Hades-like afterworld. In the first of the twelve stories compiled in A House-Boat on the Styx, the man who ferries the souls across sees a houseboat floating downriver and fears for his livelihood. He is appointed janitor on the boat, where the remaining stories take place between characters from history and mythology.

The premise of the book is that everyone who has ever died has gone to Styx, the river that circles the underworld. Charon, ferryman of the Styx being startled-and annoyed-by the arrival of a houseboat on the Styx. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that he is actually to be appointed the boat's janitor. What follows are eleven more stories which are set on the house boat. There is no central theme, and the purpose of the book appears to be as a literary thought experiment to see what would happen if various famous dead people were put in the same room with each other. Each chapter is a short story featuring various souls from history and mythology. In the twelfth chapter the house boat disappears.

The book begins with Charon, ferryman of the Styx startled--and annoyed-- the arrival of a house boat on his mystical river. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that...

The premise of the book is that everyone who has ever died (up to the time in which the book is set, which seems to be about the time of its publication) has gone to Styx, the river that circles the underworld.The book begins with Charon, ferryman of the Styx being startled-and annoyed-by the arrival of a houseboat on the Styx. At first afraid that the boat will put him out of business, he later finds out that he is actually to be appointed the boat's janitor. What follows are eleven more stories (for a total of twelve) which are set on the house boat. There is no central theme, and the purpose of the book appears to be as a literary thought experiment to see what would happen if various famous dead people were put in the same room with each other. Each chapter is a short story featuring various souls from history and mythology. In the twelfth chapter the house boat disappears, leading into the sequel, The Pursuit of the House-Boat.A House-Boat on the Styx appears to have no original fictional characters in it. All are borrowed-with varying degrees of licence-from either history or mythology.