Little Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
This first volume gathers short pieces of American wit and humor, bringing together tales, observations, and anecdotes by writers including Mark Twain, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Benjamin Franklin, and Washington Irving.
Published in 1903, the anthology offers a varied listen rather than a single continuous story. Its selections move among different voices and forms, making it easy to sample a piece at a time and hear how humor takes shape across generations of American writing.
For listeners curious about classic American authors in a lighter register, this collection provides a broad introduction to their comic observations and storytelling.
Chapters
Select a chapter to play
| Introduction | 2:07 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| Wouter Van Twiller | 10:49 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| Wilhelmus Kieft | 7:28 | Read by SionedV | |
| Peter Stuyvesant | 2:58 | Read by Joshua M.C. | |
| Antony Van Corlear | 5:22 | Read by Joshua M.C. | |
| General Van Poffenburgh | 4:34 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| Maxims | 1:52 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| Model of a Letter of Recommendation of a Person You Are Unacquainted with | 1:50 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| Epitaph for Himself by Benjamin Franklin | 1:07 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| Why He Left | 2:15 | Read by Melanie Ward | |
| Nothing to Wear | 15:44 | Read by SionedV | |
| A Boy's Essay on Girls | 1:36 | Read by Melanie Ward | |
| Deacon Marble | 5:06 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| The Deacon's Trout | 3:12 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| The Dog Noble and the Empty Hole | 4:12 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| Old Grimes | 2:19 | Read by allenputzig | |
| Identified | 2:23 | Read by DomBombadil | |
| One Better | 1:46 | Read by DomBombadil | |
| My Aunt | 2:37 | Read by DomBombadil | |
| Miss Albina McLush | 7:15 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| A Smack in School | 2:07 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| A Rendition | 1:33 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| Fancy Diseases | 1:36 | Read by Kim | |
| Bailed Out | 1:36 | Read by Kim | |
| Seeking a Comet | 1:25 | Read by Kim | |
| Going to California | 1:30 | Read by Kim | |
| Mrs. Partington in Court | 2:38 | Read by Kim | |
| Miscellaneous | 1:52 | Read by Lynne T | |
| The Deacon's Masterpiece; or, the Wonderful 'One-hoss Shay' | 6:51 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| Five Lives | 4:04 | Read by Larry Wilson | |
| The Owl-Critic | 4:30 | Read by Stephen Wilson | |
| A Cause for Thanks | 1:34 | Read by Brian Prusko | |
| Little Breeches | 4:14 | Read by Michele Fry | |
| Natral and Unnatral Aristokrats | 4:55 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| The Yankee Recruit | 9:45 | Read by allenputzig | |
| My Summer in a Garden | 19:58 | Read by Matt Braymiller | |
| Crowded | 1:34 | Read by Matt Butcher | |
| The Alarmed Skipper | 2:31 | Read by Matt Butcher | |
| The Wedding Journey | 0:56 | Read by Matt Butcher | |
| Foreign Correspondence | 1:25 | Read by Adele de Pignerolles | |
| Our Sumatra Correspondence | 5:04 | Read by Adele de Pignerolles | |
| Music-Pounding | 2:26 | Read by Kristin G. | |
| Living in the Country | 21:54 | Read by Matt Braymiller | |
| Love in a Cottage | 1:44 | Read by Kristin G. | |
| A Case of Conscience | 1:25 | Read by Kristin G. | |
| Hans Breitmann's Party | 2:28 | Read by Kristin G. | |
| Tim Crane and the Widow | 10:06 | Read by JDGavin | |
| The Stammering Wife | 1:53 | Read by Kristin G. | |
| He Rose to the Occasion | 2:25 | Read by Freya Hansen | |
| Polite | 1:38 | Read by Kristin G. | |
| Lost, Strayed or Stolen | 1:22 | Read by SteveToner | |
| He Came to Pay | 2:31 | Read by Karen Mead | |
| A Gentle Complaint | 2:47 | Read by Carl Donovan | |
| The Ballad of the Oysterman | 2:12 | Read by Karen Mead | |
| A Pleasure Exertion | 22:31 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| The Diamond Wedding | 8:58 | Read by Joe Selah | |
| What Mr. Robinson Thinks | 3:49 | Read by Lynne T | |
| Music by the Choir | 6:03 | Read by Valerie Kuhns | |
| The Notorious Jumping Frog | 13:44 | Read by Adele de Pignerolles |