Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (New Canadian Library)

Affectionately combining both the idyllic and ironic, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is Stephen Leacock’s most beloved book. Set in fictional Mariposa, an Ontario town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti, these sketches present a remarkable range of characters: some irritating, some exasperating, some foolhardy, but all endearing. Painted with the skilful brushstrokes of a great comic artist, the delightful inhabitants of Mariposa represent the people of small towns everywhere.

As fresh, funny, and insightful today as when it was first published in 1912, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is Stephen Leacock at his best – colourful, imaginative, and thoroughly entertaining.

McClelland & Stewart's elegant New Canadian Library series acknowledges and celebrates Canada's glorious literary achievements. Original Afterwords and bibliographies by leading writers complete each book.
-- Over 300 years of excellence in Canadian writing
-- Over one million sold since 1990

Stephen Leacock was born in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, in 1869. His family emigrated to Canada in 1876 and settled on a farm north of Toronto. Educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto, Leacock pursued graduate studies in economics at the University of Chicago, where he studied under Thorstein Veblen.

Even before he completed his doctorate, Leacock accepted a position as sessional lecturer in political science and economics at McGill University. When he received his Ph.D. in 1903, he was appointed to the position of lecturer. From 1908 until his retirement in 1936, he chaired the Department of Political Science and Economics.

Leacock’s most profitable book was his textbook, Elements of Political Science, which was translated into seventeen languages. The author of nineteen books and countless articles on economics, history, and political science, Leacock turned to the writing of humour as his beloved avocation. His first collection of comic stories, Literary Lapses, appeared in 1910, and from that time until his death he published a volume of humour almost every year.

Leacock also wrote popular biographies of his two favourite writers, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. At the time of his death, he left four completed chapters of what was to have been his autobiography. These were published posthumously under the title The Boy I Left Behind Me.

Stephen Leacock died in Toronto, Ontario, in 1944.

Preface

 

I The Hostelry of Mr. Smith

II The Speculations of Jefferson Thorpe

III The Marine Excursion of the Knights of Pythias

IV The Ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Drone

V The Whirlwind Campaign in Mariposa

VI The Beacon on the Hill

VII The Extraordinary Entanglement of Mr. Pupkin

VIII The Fore-ordained Attachment of Zena Pepperleigh and Peter Pupkin

IX The Mariposa Bank Mystery

X The Great Election in Missinaba County

XI The Candidacy of Mr. Smith

XII L’Envoi. The Train to Mariposa

 

Afterword

From the Trade Paperback edition.