The Peterkin Papers
Public-domain ebook
The Peterkin Papers
Language: en6,235 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Short Stories·Children & Young Adult Reading·Humour
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #25648.
About this book
The Peterkin Papers is a collection of light‑hearted family sketches that began as a simple postal‑card idea. The opening scene shows Mr. Peterkin, his son Agamemnon, and their friend Solomon John proposing to publish the antics of the Peterkin household, a suggestion that quickly gathers enthusiastic replies from neighbors and even a lady in Philadelphia. The narrative then launches into a series of episodic tales, starting with Mrs. Peterkin’s accidental salt‑in‑her‑coffee mishap, a frantic search for a chemist’s cure, and a comical herb‑woman’s futile remedies, each episode framed by the family’s earnest attempts to solve everyday problems. The table of contents lists dozens of similarly titled adventures, promising a succession of domestic misadventures told with a gentle, humorous touch.
Written in the breezy, conversational style of late‑19th‑century American juvenile fiction, the prose combines straightforward narration with occasional witty dialogue. The voice is warm and slightly didactic, reflecting a period when moral lessons were woven into amusing situations. Readers who enjoy gentle satire of middle‑class family life, nostalgic domestic humor, or classic stories that celebrate curiosity and resourcefulness will find the Peterkins’ escapades an entertaining glimpse into a bygone era.
Characters in The Peterkin Papers
- Mr. PeterkinMiddle‑aged gentleman, dark hair, moustache, waistcoat and frock coat, spectacles, dignified expression
- AgamemnonYoung boy, blond curls, crisp shirt, knickerbockers, straw hat, curious eyes
- Solomon JohnTall man, neat beard, bow tie, vest, pocket watch, thoughtful demeanor
The opening · free to read
Solomon John suggested a postal-card. Everybody reads a postal, and everybody would read it as it came along, and see its importance, and help it on. If the lady from Philadelphia were away, her family and all her servants would read it, and send it after her, for answer.
Elizabeth Eliza thought the postal a bright idea. It would not take so long to write as a letter, and would not be so expensive. But could they get the whole subject on a postal?
Mr. Peterkin believed there could be no difficulty, there was but one question:--
Shall the adventures of the Peterkin family be published?
This was decided upon, and there was room for each of the family to sign, the little boys contenting themselves with rough sketches of their india-rubber boots.
Mr. Peterkin, Agamemnon, and Solomon John took the postal-card to the post-office early one morning, and by the afternoon of that very day, and all the next day, and for many days, came streaming in answers on postals and in letters. Their card had been addressed to the lady from Philadelphia, with the number of her street. But it must have been read by their neighbors in their own town post-office before leaving; it must have been read along its way: for by each mail came piles of postals and letters from town after town, in answer to the question, and all in the same tone: "Yes, yes; publish the adventures of the Peterkin family."
"Publish them, of course."
And in time came the answer of the lady from Philadelphia:--
"Yes, of course; publish them."
This is why they were published.
CONTENTS.
The book keeps going
Keep reading, and see it illustrated
Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.
Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.
