Broad Grins / Comprising, With New Additional Tales in Verse, Those / Formerly Publish'd Under the Title "My Night-Gown and / Slippers."

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

25426

Title

Broad Grins / Comprising, With New Additional Tales in Verse, Those / Formerly Publish'd Under the Title "My Night-Gown and / Slippers."

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

George Colman the Younger's witty verse collection satirizes modern poets, dramatists, and novelists through three humorous tales. Featuring brawny characters, spectral water-fiends, and a cuckolded knight, the work blends farce with social commentary, offering a lively, satirical look at literary pretension and human folly.

Summary up to 500 words

George Colman the Younger's *Broad Grins* is a collection of satirical tales in verse that critiques contemporary literature and human nature through exaggerated characters and slapstick violence. The work opens with a debate among three alehouse friends—Tom, Dick, and Will—who mock modern novelists for their sensationalism and dramatists for their lack of originality. They argue that while modern fiction is often trashy, it serves as a necessary stimulus for a taste fatigued by the mundane. The narrative then shifts to a spectral romance titled *The Water-Fiends*. Set in a bleak moor, the story follows a loyal gardener and a cook who share a deep, mutual affection. After the gardener accidentally drowns while attempting to scare away birds, he returns as a ghost to reveal that he and his faithful dog have become water-fiends. They drag the cook into a well, illustrating the proverb that 'truth lies at the bottom of a well,' a testament to their enduring fidelity even in death. The final and longest section, *The Knight and the Friar*, centers on Sir Thomas Erpingham, a knight whose honor is threatened when he discovers his wife's correspondence with a friar. Consumed by rage, Sir Thomas devises a trap, tricking the cleric into meeting him at midnight. He brutally beats the friar, killing him, and faces the dilemma of disposing of the corpse before dawn. He enlists the aid of his massive servant, the Duke of Limbs, a man of immense strength and secret-keeping ability. The Duke effortlessly carries the heavy body across a marsh to a tiny, secluded house, leaving the friar sitting upright in the dark, a grotesque sight for a rival friar, Roger, who is suffering from indigestion. The tale concludes with a chaotic domestic scene involving a drunken visitor and a doctor, which inadvertently reveals a family secret: the knight's maiden aunt is pregnant. Throughout the collection, Colman employs broad humor, absurdity, and sharp satire to expose the follies of society, the hypocrisy of religious figures, and the absurdity of literary trends, all while maintaining a tone of playful mockery.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Classics
• Poetry