Mrs. Caudle's curtain lectures. With a foreword by Anthony Burgess

Jerrold, Douglas

ISBN 10: 0002715066 / ISBN 13: 9780002715065

Published by London, Harvill Press, 1974

About this Item

Very good condition in lightly edge-worn dust jacket. Dust jacket in mylar cover. . 157p.

Seller Inventory # 46274

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mrs. Caudle's curtain lectures. With a foreword by Anthony Burgess
• Publisher: London, Harvill Press
• Publication Date: 1974
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002715066
• ISBN 13: 9780002715065
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First printing (First edition).
• Seller catalogs:
  • English Literature

About this title

Synopsis

Originally serialized in "PUNCH" in 1845, Mrs. Caudle's incessant petty lectures to her unfortunate husband--enacted in the matrimonial bed at the close of each day when he is compelled to lie and listen--are as hilarious and familiar today as when first penned. Introduction by Peter Ackroyd.

From the Publisher

The quintessential hen-pecked husband, Job Caudle leads a quiet and well-intentioned life, looking forward to his few modest pleasures. But he is never allowed to savor them for long. In Mrs. Caudle's eyes, he can do no right. With a melodramatic talent for turning molehills into mountains, she lays the blame for all their ills squarely at his feet. The lectures are a war of attrition between the irresistible force of Mrs. Caudle's tongue and the stamina of her poor husband's tortured ears. With no means of escape, the doomed Mr. Caudle's only means of defense is to alternate between mustering the odd rejoinder and feigning sleep. Resistance, however, is always futile.