Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich
Encyclopedia
Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich is a work of humorous fiction by Stephen Leacock
first published in 1914. It is the follow-up to his 1912 classic Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
. Like that work, it is a sequence of interlocking stories set in one town, but instead of focusing on a small Canadian town in the countryside, it is set in a major American metropolis and its characters are the upper crust of society.
Although currently not as well-known as the earlier book, Arcadian Adventures was extremely popular in North America
at the time of its publication and for a while was considered the greater success. It was also translated and published by the Bolshevik
government soon after the 1917 revolution and it became a bestseller in the Soviet Union
.
The fourth story in the book features a character that caricature
s the religious leader `Abdu'l-Bahá
, who visited Leacock's resident city of Montreal
in 1912.
Stephen Leacock
Stephen Butler Leacock, FRSC was an English-born Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist...
first published in 1914. It is the follow-up to his 1912 classic Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is a sequence of stories by Stephen Leacock, first published in 1912.It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature....
. Like that work, it is a sequence of interlocking stories set in one town, but instead of focusing on a small Canadian town in the countryside, it is set in a major American metropolis and its characters are the upper crust of society.
Although currently not as well-known as the earlier book, Arcadian Adventures was extremely popular in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
at the time of its publication and for a while was considered the greater success. It was also translated and published by the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
government soon after the 1917 revolution and it became a bestseller in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The fourth story in the book features a character that caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s the religious leader `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
, who visited Leacock's resident city of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 1912.
Stories
- A Little Dinner with Mr. Lucullus Fyshe
- The Wizard of Finance
- The Arrested Philanthropy of Mr. Tomlinson
- The Yahi-Bahi Oriental Society of Mrs. Rasselyer-Brown
- The Love Story of Mr. Peter Spillikins
- The Rival Churches of St. Asaph and St. Osoph
- The Ministrations of the Rev. Uttermust Dumfarthing
- The Great Fight for Clean Government