Audiobook · read by volunteers
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
Stephen Leacock (1869–1944)
Read by Esther, Chuck Spann, Dave Ranson, Kevin McAsh, Betsie Bush, Ted Delorme, Sean McGaughey, Robin Cotter · 13 chapters · 5 h 43
About the book
Welcome to Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti, where the maple trees line the square streets and the church bells call the faithful and the hotel's bar is always lively. Stephen Leacock's Sunshine Sketches is a series of linked stories about its inhabitants: the hotelkeeper Mr. Smith, the Reverend Mr. Drone, the young bank clerk Peter Pupkin, a whole town of voters. Each is a recognisable type, and each is the subject of Leacock's warm, ironical humour. The stories poke fun at pretensions and at small-town folly, but never cruelly, and under the laughter lies real affection. Thirteen chapters, about five hours and forty minutes, eight readers, and a closing sketch aboard the train to Mariposa. A classic of Canadian comedy that still makes people smile. Leacock's irony is gentle, and the laughter never stops being kind.
Introduction
Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) was a Canadian humorist and an economist who taught at McGill University in Montreal. Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, first published in 1912, is generally considered one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. Leacock moves between social comedy, gentle farce and moments of unexpected feeling, and the variety of subjects, from a church sermon to an election campaign and a steamboat excursion, keeps the book lively.
The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti. Although the book is drawn from his experiences in Orillia, Ontario, Leacock writes in the introduction that Mariposa is not a real town, but is instead about seventy or eighty of them, which can be found all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels. The work has remained popular for its universal appeal. Many of the characters, though modelled on townspeople of Orillia, are small-town archetypes, and their shortcomings are treated with indulgence. The chapters run from a preface and the hostelry of Mr. Smith through the candidacy of Mr. Smith to the last sketch, L'Envoi: The Train to Mariposa, a closing journey toward the town. Leacock's gentle irony is the engine of the book. He laughs at his characters, and he loves them.
The recording has 13 chapters and lasts about five and three-quarter hours. Eight LibriVox volunteers share the reading.
It is a delightful companion for anyone who enjoys gentle satire and the comedy of small communities.
Public domain
Stephen Leacock died in 1944: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text