Merry Tales

This is an anthology of seven short stories and sketches by famous author Mark Twain. Tales include The Private History of a Campaign That Failed, The Invalid's Story, Luck, The Captain's Story, A Curious Experience, Mrs Mc Williams and the Lightning, and Meisterschaft. First published in 1892, most of the stories explore the idea of war and its impact on society. The final sketch, Meisterschaft, is written as a play.

First published in 1524-5, this charming collection of amusing (sometimes scurrilous) anecdotes was greatly celebrated in Tudor England, and is even name-checked by Shakespeare. Now re-edited for the first time from all four surviving original editions, and including rediscovered 'lost' passages, this is the fullest ever edition of a classic work

The Nouvelles Récréations et Joyeaux Devis of Bonaventure des Périers are here translated for the first time into modern English. The translators have been successful in retaining the vitality of this important French Renaissance satirist, turning his colloquial sixteenth-century French into equally colloquial and lively American. The translation of the 129 tales is prefaced by a biographical study of des Périers both as man and artist, and a critical bibliography is also included.