Books by John Kendrick Bangs

This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature.In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards:1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete work has been re-designed via professional layout, formatting and type-setting tools to re-create the same edition with rich typography, graphics, high quality images, and table elements, giving our readers the feel of holding a 'fresh and newly' reprinted and/or revised edition, as opposed to other scanned & printed (Optical Character Recognition - OCR) reproductions.2. Correction of imperfections: As the work was re-created from the scratch, therefore, it was vetted to rectify certain conventional norms with regard to typographical mistakes, hyphenations, punctuations, blurred images, missing content/pages, and/or other related subject matters, upon our consideration. Every attempt was made to rectify the imperfections related to omitted constructs in the original edition via other references. However, a few of such imperfections which could not be rectified due to intentional\unintentional omission of content in the original edition, were inherited and preserved from the original work to maintain the authenticity and construct, relevant to the work.We believe that this work holds historical, cultural and/or intellectual importance in the literary works community, therefore despite the oddities, we accounted the work for print as a part of our continuing effort towards preservation of literary work and our contribution towards the development of the society as a whole, driven by our beliefs. We are grateful to our readers for putting their faith in us and accepting our imperfections with regard to preservation of the historical content. HAPPY READING!

This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature.In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards:1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete work has been re-designed via professional layout, formatting and type-setting tools to re-create the same edition with rich typography, graphics, high quality images, and table elements, giving our readers the feel of holding a 'fresh and newly' reprinted and/or revised edition, as opposed to other scanned & printed (Optical Character Recognition - OCR) reproductions.2. Correction of imperfections: As the work was re-created from the scratch, therefore, it was vetted to rectify certain conventional norms with regard to typographical mistakes, hyphenations, punctuations, blurred images, missing content/pages, and/or other related subject matters, upon our consideration. Every attempt was made to rectify the imperfections related to omitted constructs in the original edition via other references. However, a few of such imperfections which could not be rectified due to intentional\unintentional omission of content in the original edition, were inherited and preserved from the original work to maintain the authenticity and construct, relevant to the work.We believe that this work holds historical, cultural and/or intellectual importance in the literary works community, therefore despite the oddities, we accounted the work for print as a part of our continuing effort towards preservation of literary work and our contribution towards the development of the society as a whole, driven by our beliefs. We are grateful to our readers for putting their faith in us and accepting our imperfections with regard to preservation of the historical content. HAPPY READING!

Table of Contents: ΓÇó A Toast To Santa Clause ΓÇó The Conversion of Hetherington ΓÇó A Merry Christmas Pie ΓÇó The Child Who Had Everything But ΓÇó A Holiday Wish ΓÇó Santa Clause and Little Billee ΓÇó Christmas Eve ΓÇó The House of the Seven Santas ΓÇó Extract: ΓÇó "He was only a little bit of a chap, and so, when for the first time in his life he came into close contact with the endless current of human things, it was as hard for him to "stay put" as for some wayward little atom of flotsam and jetsam to keep from tossing about in the surging tides of the sea. His mother had left him there in the big toy-shop, with instructions not to move until she came back, while she went off to do some mysterious errand. She thought, no doubt, that with so many beautiful things on every side to delight his eye and hold his attention, strict obedience to her commands would not be hard." ΓÇó John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American author, editor and satirist.

The elite clubhouse, the Houseboat located on the River Styx, has been stolen by the dreaded pirate Captain Kidd when the member's wives were onboard. The ghost of Sherlock Holmes steps up to help track down the boat and recapture it. If that were all of the pirates' worries, they may fare better...

"That's what I thought; and when you can't work ruin stares you in the face, eh? Now I have a manuscript-""Oh Lord!" I cried. "Don't. There are millions in the same fix. Even my cook writes."______________________________One perfect evening the author receives a ghostly phone call from none other than the Baron Munchausen himself , with a rich offer no sane living man could refuse. Proclaiming his devotion to the truth behind every one of the baron's tall tales, the author presented this book to the public with absolute faith that you would believe them as much as he does

"That is true," said Ward. "And they do do you, my beloved William. It's a wonder to me you are not dizzy turning over in your grave the way they do you."Everyone who has ever died has had to cross the River Styx in the underworld. But even after death, men will be men. On the suggestion of Queen Elizabeth, some put a houseboat on the river Styx to be an exclusive men's club. But their club may not be as stuffy and quiet as the ones found on the mortal plane. No one can stop teasing Shakespear regarding the authorship of his plays. They wonder if Adam ever had a tail. And, of course, no women are allowed.

Just when you thought your cognitive dissonance was healing... Come to a journey to Liberalland, where the best intentions are justified by any means, The logical absurdity of Socialism, Progressivism, and a few other -ism's piled on, have built a city where the city government leans so far left it has to be propped up to keep from falling over. Alice remains sane, through all this, whlle retaining her naivete' (also known as gullibility) and we follow her (respectably, not stalking) through her adventures after she wished one progressive wish too many... Excerpt: "Oh dear!" cried Alice impatiently, as she sat rocking in her chair, listening to the pattering of the rain upon the roof of the veranda. "I do wish there was something to do, or somebody to do, or somewhere to go. The Gov'ment ought to provide covered playgrounds for children on wet days. It wouldn't cost much, to put a glass cover on the Park!" "A very good, idea! I'll make a note of that," said a squeaky little voice at her side...

The Associated Shades This volume contains all the four humorous and witty novels by John Kendrick Bangs about "The Associated Shades" a group of famous dead people who become a sort of corporation or exclusive club in a house-boat on Styx. These stories created a new genre - Bangsian fiction - which is a story set almost or entirely in the afterlife. Members of The Associated Shades include: Confucius, Socrates , Sherlock Holmes, Baron Munchausen, William Shakespeare, Napoleon Bonaparte, Dr Samuel Johnson, Nero, James Boswell , Charles Darwin, George Washington, Walter Raleigh among others.