Don Lee Fred Nilsen – författare

British writers of the 20th century have used humor in various ways throughout their works. Some writers, such as George Bernard Shaw and W. Somerset Maughm, were known for their comedies of manners. Others, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Alfred Hitchcock, wrote mystery novels infused with humorous elements. Political humor permeated the works of Sir Winston Churchill and George Orwell, while writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis combined humor with religion and myth. Many of the trends that began in the nineteenth century were continued into the twentieth, though these trends were shaped by the social conditions of the period. This reference surveys humor in British literature of the 20th century.Included are authors who were active during the 20th century, ranging from Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934) through Douglas (Noel) Adams (1952-). Each of these authors is profiled individually, with entries analyzing humor in their works and providing extensive bibliographical information. The first chapter covers includes authors born between 1855 and 1869, while each of the following chapters includes authors born during a particular decade. Within each chapter, the entries are arranged chronologically, so that the reader may trace the evolution of British literary humor over time. An index additionally allows the user to locate individual authors alphabetically.

Ireland has generated an inordinately large number of storytellers, and Irish short stories bear a striking resemblance to Irish jokes. The tradition of telling jokes and stories in pubs resulted in the core of Irish-written literature, and many Irish short stories have the same narrative structure as the jokes on which they are based.This reference is a comprehensive guide to humor in Irish literature from the 16th century to the present day. An introductory essay discusses the essential nature of Irish humor, and how Irish humor developed out of pain and tragedy that resulted in a diaspora. The chapters that follow are devoted to particular centuries. Each chapter includes entries for individual authors, with entries arranged chronologically to show the development of humor over time. Each entry discusses the nature of humor in the author's works and includes a bibliography. A detailed index allows alphabetical access to information on authors and subjects.

During the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain there was a wide range of literary humor. Much of this humor was satiric, ranging from the sharp barbs of Pope and Swift to the more subtle but stinging wordplay of Addison. In the 18th century, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, and Sterne wrote humorous novels, in which they criticized society. The period was largely dominated by satire, in which the dunce was a common figure. There was a proliferation of satires in prose and verse, along with satiric operas, pamphlets, and other writings. During the 19th century, writers such as Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot, and Carlyle continued to use humor to comment on the issues of their day, though their writings were often far more gentle than those of their predecessors.This reference book is a comprehensive guide to how British writers of the 18th and 19th centuries used humor in their works. An introductory chapter overviews humor in British literature of the era. The sections that follow then treat humor in British literature of the 18th century and of the early, middle, and later 19th century. Each of these sections includes a short introduction, followed by chronologically arranged profiles of various authors. Each profile discusses how the author used humor and includes extensive bibliographic information. A thorough index allows the reader to access information alphabetically, while the chronological arrangement of the profiles shows how humor in British literature evolved over time.