The Life and Times of Algernon Swift

Puns and hand-drawn illustrations tell the story of the young and earnest Algernon Swift, who is perplexed by life and all the ambiguities that language throw at him. By contrast, his elderly uncle Reverend Hawker revels in them, and, eventually, Algernon learns to feel joy amidst all the confusion.

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Our young and earnest hero, Algernon Swift, returns from his travels abroad and must once more face the trials of life, love and the English language. Back at home, Algernon tries to cope with the exorbitant passion of the exquisite Mavis (a woman with X on her mind) and his elderly uncle, Reverend Hawker, and his exasperating inability to mean one thing at a time.

Well-meaning in a world of double meanings, can Algernon avoid becoming another of Mavis's Xs or, at least, plunging into an existential crisis of his own? Amidst perpetual solicitude, can Algernon find both solace and solitude? Punning on subjects as diverse as Henry VIII's wives, Pre-Raphaelite painters, mathematics and fairy tales, we are taken on a hilarious and punishing journey of jokes – both high-brow and homespun – as Algernon attempts to make sense of, and even delight in, the world of word-play.

Written and illustrated by Bill Jones, The Life and Times of Algernon Swift contains some of the best – or indeed worst – puns and jokes you will ever read.