Although Stephen Leacock may well be remembered as a father of Canadian culture, he was a humorist of the school of Dickens and Mark Twain, exuding a universal quality that knew no borders. He taught the world, and perhaps more importantly Canada itself, that Canadians could laugh heartily and without reserve at themselves.

This collection of his works—including several Sunshine Sketches and witticisms such as "How to Introduce Two People to One Another,""The Perfect Optimist,"and "How to Borrow Money"—demonstrates a warmth and wit that during his lifetime permeated his casual speech and possessed a timeless quality that lives on today.

Award-winning Canadian humorist and writer Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) was the author of more than 50 literary works, and between 1915 and 1925 was the most popular humorist in the English-speaking world. Leacock’s fictional works include classics like Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich, and Literary Lapses. In addition to his humor writings, Leacock was an accomplished political theorist, publishing such works as Elements of Political Science and My Discovery of the West: A Discussion of East and West in Canada, for which he won the Governor General's Award for writing in 1937. Leacock’s life continues to be commemorated through the awarding of the Leacock Medal for Humour and with an annual literary festival in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario.

Stephen Leacock's profile page