Books with author Thorne Smith

The Stray Lamb is a hilarious string of adventures as poor, ordinary, faithful, Mr. Lamb, is somewhat unwillingly tossed from one mishap to another. He is given a new perspective on life through the eyes of many different animals as he assumes the shape of many including a stallion, goldfish, dog, lion and many others. Mr. Lamb gains wisdom, fresh insight, and a new much needed exuberance for life as he exchanges the mundane for the slightly insane.

The beloved characters--mortal and immortal--of Topper return in this uproarious romp through the south of France. One of Thorne Smith's best-loved comedies, it proves once again that he is the undisputed master of urbane wit and sophisticated repartee. Cosmo Topper, the mild-mannered bank manager who was persuaded to take a walk on the wild side by the ghosts of George and Marion Kerby in Topper, finds himself reunited with his dyspeptic wife for an extended vacation on the Riviera. But he doesn't have long to enjoy the peace and quiet before the irrepressible Kerbys materialize once again and start causing fracases, confusing the citizenry, alarming the gendarmes, getting naked, and turning every occasion into revelry or melee. Soon Marion decides that Topper as a ghost would be even more laughs than Topper in the flesh. And all she needs to arrange is one simple little murder.Born in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1892, educated at Dartmouth, THORNE SMITH was an early cohort of Dorothy Parker's. He achieved literary success in 1926 with the publication of Topper and went on to publish nine novels in the next eight years. He earned a passionate following among both critics and readers before his death, at the age of forty-two, in 1934.CAROLYN SEE is the author of nine books. Her latest novel is The Handyman. She lives in Pacific Palisades, California.From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Thorne Smith best-remembered for humorous novels, many turning on some fantastic plot device which thrusts the protagonist into grotesque predicaments, often via unwitting transformation. The 1926 publication of "Topper" brought the author immediate acclaim. Elegant, fun-loving George and Marion Kerby are the toast of the town, until they wreck their flashy car and discover they've become, well, ghosts. Making the best of a bad situation, they decide that being dead is the perfect opportunity to liven up stuffy Cosmo Topper. The capricious ghosts make it their mission to rescue the law-abiding, mild-mannered bank manager from the staid "summer of suburban Sundays" that is his life. With their ectoplasmic reappearances and whimsically insane actions, they leave Topper, and anyone else who crosses their path, in a whirlwind of discomfiture and delight.

Thorne Smith once again has our eyes fastened to the words as he blends satire, charm and imagination into his fascinating story.Mr. Quintus Bland, is he a man or a skeleton? After this well-known photographer attempts to perfect X-ray film, something went terribly awry. Each moment is an adventure as he transforms from flesh to bone and back again without warning. Amazement, unbelief, and terror fill the hearts of onlookers as Mr. Bland passes by in various stages of undress. “Gracious! There’s a naked man in this lift.” (ch 16)Even his wife who previously had lost all interest in him, begins to feel pity and even love as he loses all hope of normalcy. Be prepared to cringe at Quintus' agonizing doctor visit, laugh while the town mortician attempts to sell him a top of the line coffin, and panic while he races to escape the murderous gunmen out to get him.Will he escape unharmed, or end up a pile of bones?

A photographer’s freak accident in the dark room produces a chemical concoction causing him (and his dog) to randomly switch back and forth between normal and X-ray (skeleton) versions of themselves. Predictably, much drinking and cavorting ensues, as he finds people able to see beyond his appearance and appreciate him for who he is, while inadvertently terrifying those who can not. Unusually, his wife Lorna is an attractive personality.

This vintage book contains Thorne Smith's 1933 novel, "Rain in the Doorway". It is the story an adulteress's husband who embarks on inebriated adventures with his various partners and a girl who works in a pornographic books department. Those who have read and enjoyed Smith's work will love "Rain in the Doorway", an entertaining and risqué tale of forbidden love and compromising situations. Contents include: "Waiting", "In The Doorway", "Snatched Through", "The New Partner", "Pornography Preferred", "Satin", "Establishing A Line Of Credit", "The Burning Beard", "The Kiarians Continue", "From The Roof Top", "The Partners Are Helpful", "Satin Slings An Eel", "Mr. Owen's Buff", "The Hour Grows Late", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction.

Sally Willows envied her adman husband his glamorous work; Tim Willows felt Sally lived in ease and luxury while he was sweating to pay the bills. So an ill-tempered minor god, tired of their bickering, worked a modest miracle... ...and Sally Willows, now occupying her husband’s body, experienced the full horrors of the Nationwide Advertising Agency, while Tim, now outwardly Sally, dealt with the amourous advances of a local Lothario. It was a toss-up whether Sally/Tim’s well-earned dismissal or Tim/Sally’s bizarre attempt at murder was more spectacular—but both seemed insignificant when Tim found he was pregnant!—Goodreads.com.

"[Thorne Smith] created the modern American ghost. A ghost with style and wit. A ghost that haunts us still." --The New York TimesThorne Smith is a master of urbane wit and sophisticated repartee. Topper, his best-known work, is the hilarious, ribald comedy on which the hit television show and movie (starring Cary Grant) were based.It all begins when Cosmo Topper, a law-abiding, mild-mannered bank manager, decides to buy a secondhand car, only to find it haunted by the ghosts of its previous owners--the reckless, feckless, frivolous couple who met their untimely demise when the car careened into an oak tree. The ghosts, George and Marion Kerby, make it their mission to rescue Topper from the drab "summer of suburban Sundays" that is his life--and they commence a series of madcap adventures that leave Topper, and anyone else who crosses their path, in a whirlwind of discomfiture and delight. As enchanting today as it was when first published in 1926, Topper has set the standard in American pop culture for such mischievous apparitions as those seen in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Heaven Can Wait, Beetlejuice, and Bewitched.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Who hasn't waited for a ride in the pouring rain and wondered if there wasn't something more to life? This is exactly how we find poor Mr. Owen, hopeless and downtrodden, wet and miserable. Suddenly, he is swept in through a doorway to a place full of wild imaginations, where loneliness and unfulfilled dreams are a thing of the past. Along with Messrs. Larkin, Britt-Britt and Dinner, the once completely ignored and abused Mr. Owen is pursued by women, has a constant supply of liquor, and hops from one off the wall adventure to another. He may lose his inhibitions, but he finds something he was in desperate need of, love. Miss Honor Knightly is everything he never knew existed and then some! This is a heartwarming tale of dreams coming true.