Thorne Smith Books

This is a truly wonderful, but little known sex-comedy, by Thorne Smith who brought us "Topper". Written in 1932, it deals with a young man named Peter Van Dyck, who has recently inherited his father's coffee business and is engaged to beautiful socialite Yolanda Wilmont. Peter's secretary Josephine Duvall is in love with Peter, and makes the most of every oportunity to attract him, mostly by showing off her sexy legs while taking a couple of letters. Josephine tells Peter that the stuffy Yolanda is entirely unsuitable for him, and that he needs someone to mold him into the kind of man who can successfully run a business (i.e., Josephine). Peter rebuffs her advances, but all the while finds himself getting turned on by his cheeky secretary. When the ferry they are taking gets lost in the fog, Peter, Yoland, Josephine, and a few other peripheral characters (including the Bishop of the title) set out in a small boat hoping to get to shore before the ferry. When they alight, they discover they are in a nudist colony, where all persons are forced to strip and go naked--all except Yolanda, for whom an exception is made. Being naked causes the characters to see themselves and others differently, especially Yolanda, who has an epiphany when she finally decides to disrobe.

Smith's prose is fast-moving and enjoyable, and his plots and dialogue are laugh-out-loud funny. This is my favorite of all his books.

A number of years ago, when I was in acting school, a classmate of mine and I adapted Chapter Three into a scene to perform for a show my school put on. It was a big success, and I have long thought this book was theatrical enough to be easily transformed into a movie or play, except for the second half which takes place in the nudist colony. How could you present this with everyone totally naked? I recently read that "The Bishop's Jaegers" is on its was to becoming a motion picture, so I am eager to see what they do about this.

A businessman, his fiancee, his secretary, a thief and a bishop leave a ferry lost in a fog, and find themselves at a nudist colony, where they are forced to remain. The usual Thorne Smith zaniness, with the occasional caustic comment on society.

Thorne Smith is always a treat. The Bishop's Jaegers is my personal favorite of his works. Characters like "Aspirin Liz" and the little pickpocket make the book more personable. The plot involves a group of Ferry boat passengers stranded on a nudist colony. The pickpocket finds nudity unrewarding, the Bishop (in his Jaegers) finds it disconcerting. The reader finds it very amusing.

Thorne Smith lived a melencholy (and some what alcohol besotted) existance and yet was able to create some of the funniest writtings known to modern man. His books are a slow read because you find yourself stopping for extended periods of time to laugh, blot your tears, laugh some more and then some more. Line by line, he has you rolling on the floor, causing a scene nowhere near as funny as what you have just read but in serious contention. If you are one of those folks who does not laugh out loud, you should, perhaps avoid his work as I believe it must be unhealthy to stay in control of this much fun with out the safety valve of laughing. And for heaven's sakes, don't read in the presence of strangers, they will think you demented (and you will feel much that way, as well). Smith wrote so long ago that his were books sneaked into the house by my (then) teen-aged father (now nearing 80). The books have survived to be read (and re-read) by every one in the family...and they are evry bit as funny (though probably not as racey) as they were for my dad. They are irreverent, ridiculous, fantastic and amazing. I need more, more,more....