The Thorne Smith Reader: Nine Novels by Thorne SmithThis collection includes some of Thorne Smith's greatest works    Topper: The Jovial Ghosts (1926)    The Stray Lamb (1929)    Turnabout (1931)    The Night Life of the Gods (1931)    Topper Takes a Trip (1932)    The Bishop's Jaegers (1932)    Rain in the Doorway (1933)    Skin and Bones (1933)    The Glorious Pool (1934)Thorne Smith was a fantastic fantasy fiction writer who sold millions of paperbacks in the early twentieth century. He wa...

In 'The Night Life of the Gods,' Thorne Smith weaves a fantastical narrative infused with humor and clever social satire. The novel chronicles the escapades of a group of mischievous deities who descend from Mount Olympus to experience the pleasures and vices of 1920s New York City. Smith's literary style is marked by a playful use of language, whimsical dialogue, and a structure that lends itself to both farce and philosophical musing on the nature of humanity. This book stands as a signi...

The Jazz Age comedy of manners about a straitlaced banker and two bon vivant ghosts that inspired the classic film starring Cary Grant.Bank manager Cosmo Topper has settled into a stable, respectable, and thoroughly boring life. In need of a little adventure, he decides to buy a secondhand car—a detail he neglects to tell his staid wife, Mary. But Topper's little secret turns into an unexpectedly wild ride when he discovers the automobile is haunted by its previous...

In "The Glorious Pool," Thorne Smith masterfully intertwines fantasy and comedy, creating a narrative that reflects the whimsical spirit of the 1920s. Set against the backdrop of a languorous summer, the novel revolves around an enchanted swimming pool that serves as a portal to surreal experiences and ramblings of the human condition. Smith's jovial prose, characterized by witty dialogue and clever wordplay, evokes a playful atmosphere while exploring themes of desire, escapism, and the i...

One of Thorne Smith's better outings. When a scientist pairs up with a witch with the ability to bring statues to life, chaos ensues. The two decide it would be a good idea to bring the statues of the gods at the Metropolitan Museum to life. But the gods, it turns out, are too human by half -- they immediately start to cavort, bicker, drink, and carry on in a spree of epic proportions.

Feckless, fun-loving and totally uncontrollable ghosts, George and Marion Kerby and friends — the tortuously crooked Colonel Scott and his companion, the disreputable Mrs. Hart — return to bring chaos and merriment into the life of mild-mannered, stuffy, and somewhat plump, Cosmo Topper.After a summer of life-altering misadventures with his spirited friends, Cosmo has retreated to the French Riviera with his nagging wife, Mary, and cat, Scallops, when he finds himself alone in his ...

Cosmo Topper a staid and dull banker with an nagging wife ,who has perpetual indigestion. (She needs Pepto - Bismol)A drastic change happens in his boring life, after buying an old sports car.The auto was previously owned by an irresponsible rich young couple ,who died in it . While driving in the country , he starts seeing things and maybe going a little insane!

The Night Life of the Gods is another great fantasy adventure from Thorne Smith. Hunter Hawk is an inventor of a device that turns people into to stone and vice versa. He meets 900-year-old Megaera and the two head for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to bring the Greek gods to life.Thorne Smith was a fantastic fantasy fiction writer who sold millions of paperbacks in the early twentieth century. He was famous for his Topper novels as well as the novel that was later adapted to create Bewitc...

Thorne Smith's "Topper" presents a delightful blend of humor and supernatural elements, weaving a narrative that expertly explores themes of social propriety and the pursuit of happiness. Set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, the book follows George and Marian Topper, an ordinary couple whose lives are turned upside down when they encounter the spirited ghosts of a young couple. Smith's witty prose and whimsical characterizations breathe life into a world where the boundaries b...

Hysterical romp about a man who cahnges into verious animals sort of randomly and has , as might be expected, strange adventures.

The second Topper book by Thorne Smith is a biting confection of wit and well worth the read if you enjoyed the first. While the first book takes dear old Topper, our mild-mannered, suburban-dwelling, bank executive and spins him on an adventure with some free-wheeling ghosts that causes him much reflection on his life, this second book has Topper, now a retired bank executive, galavanting in the south of France with the very same mischievous, sexy, prohibition-despising ghosts as accompli...