Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.3 stars; 9 reviews)

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is a sequence of stories by Stephen Leacock, first published in 1912. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature.

The fictional setting for these stories is Mariposa, a small town on the shore of Lake Wissanotti. Although drawn from his experiences in Orillia, Ontario, Leacock writes in the introduction:

“Mariposa is not a real town. On the contrary, it is about seventy or eighty of them. You may find them all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels.”

This work has remained popular for its universal appeal. Many of the characters, though modelled on townspeople of Orillia, are small town archetypes. Their shortcomings and weaknesses are presented in a humorous but affectionate way.

Often, the narrator greatly exaggerates the importance of the events in Mariposa compared to the rest of the world. For example, when there is a country-wide election, “the town of Mariposa, was, of course, the storm centre and focus point of the whole turmoil.” (Summary from Wikipedia) (5 hr 43 min)

Chapters

Preface 9:39 Read by Esther
The Hostelry of Mr. Smith 51:26 Read by Chuck Spann
The Speculations of Jefferson Thorpe 36:50 Read by Chuck Spann
The Marine Excursion of the Knights of Pythias 34:18 Read by Dave Ranson
The Ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Drone 30:29 Read by Kevin McAsh
The Whirlwind Campaign in Mariposa 15:47 Read by Esther
The Beacon on the Hill 20:46 Read by Betsie Bush
The Extraordinary Entanglement of Mr. Pupkin 23:23 Read by Betsie Bush
The Fore-ordained Attachment of Zena Pepperleigh and Peter Pupkin 24:53 Read by Esther
The Mariposa Bank Mystery 38:30 Read by Ted Delorme
The Great Election in Missinaba County 24:47 Read by Sean McGaughey
The Candidacy of Mr. Smith 21:09 Read by Robin Cotter
L'Envoi. The Train to Mariposa 11:58 Read by Esther

Reviews


(4 stars)

i really enjoyed this light and humorous story