Idle Ideas in 1905

The third and final collection in this series of reflections written by one of the wittiest and whimsical men to press pen against paper. As well as his usual take on the foibles of his fellow Englishmen and women, Jerome ruminates, in his typically liberal fashion, about far-flung countries such as Russia, Africa and China. Jerome was never a ‘jelly-bellied flag-flapping imperialist’ and his vision, experience and worldliness are revealed to us in the following essays:

Are we as interesting as we think we are? Should women be beautiful? When’s the best time to be merry? Do we lie abed too late? Should married men play golf? Are early marriages a mistake? Do writers write too much? Should soldiers be polite? Ought stories to be true? Creatures that one day shall be men. How to be happy though little. Should we say what we think or think what we say? Is the American husband made entirely of stained glass? Does the young man know everything worth knowing? How many charms hath music would you say? The White Man’s Burden: need it be so heavy? Why didn’t he marry the girl? What Mrs Wilkins thought about it. Shall we be ruined by Chinese cheap labour? How to solve the servant problem. Why we hate the foreigner.

The authors’ insightful and entertaining discussions demonstrate yet again that history has a lot to teach us-if only we would listen!