Some Limericks

Norman Douglas was 60 when he first offered this delightful collection--the result of a lifetime of assiduous research--in a privately printed edition. Anthologies of limericks are many, but this one, like a good wine, is rare indeed. It was during the reign of Queen Victoria, according to Douglas, that this fine art achieved its greatest successes, and it is from this era that most of the choices in this volume come, though some from the '20s and an American sampling are also included. As important as the limericks themselves are Douglas's witty, pungent notes which follow each selection.