The Pursuit of the House-Boat
John Kendrick Bangs1897
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- Associated Shades
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Foreign Language Books English Originals ElizabethSherlock HolmesNotorious FiguresSocratesShakespeareFantasy NovelHumorous SatireSatirical HumorFull-Length NovelAmerican AuthorSummary
The Pursuit of the House-Boat is a novel by the American writer John Kendrick Bangs, published in 1897 and the second installment in his "Associated Shades" series. The "Associated Shades" are the author's fictional club of the dead, whose members are all real historical figures from the worlds of letters, monarchy, and philosophy: Shakespeare, Socrates, Elizabeth I, and other famous personages continue in the afterlife society on the banks of the Styx to form clubs, hold meetings, and trade barbs, preserving the dignity and tempers they had in life. At the end of the series' first book, A House-Boat on the Styx, the club's luxurious "house-boat" is hijacked by the notorious pirate Captain Kidd. This book picks up from there: unwilling to lose their floating clubhouse, the members decide to hire a real detective to trace its whereabouts, and the man they engage is none other than Sherlock Holmes, the most famous sleuth in the world at the time. What follows is a comic chase by these long-departed worthies along the waterways of the afterlife, complete with sparkling dialogue, jabs at historical figures, and a good-natured parody of Conan Doyle's detective. The book runs to twelve chapters and was first serialized under its full long title, with illustrations by Peter Newell, in Harper's Weekly from February 6 to April 24, 1897; Harper & Brothers published it in book form the same year. Its original full title was The Pursuit of the House-Boat: Being Some Further Account of the Divers Doings of the Associated Shades, Under the Leadership of Sherlock Holmes, Esq. The work is in the public domain and can be read free of charge through Project Gutenberg and other channels.Editor's review
一本很容易被今天的读者忽略、却极有意思的“冷门经典”。它出现在福尔摩斯被柯南·道尔“写死”又尚未复活的年代，班斯干脆把这位被宣告死亡的大侦探请到冥界办案，让他在一群历史名人之间主持追查，这种设定在当时颇为大胆，也让本书成为“福尔摩斯仿作”谱系中常被提及的一环。 读这本书的乐趣，不在于推理有多严密，而在于“名人社交”的荒诞感：莎士比亚、苏格拉底、伊丽莎白一世同乘一船，彼此抖机灵、发脾气，谈的是俱乐部、会费和面子。班斯以记者式的轻快笔调写来世，把对维多利亚时代文坛与社交场的观察藏进笑料里，后来“Bangsian fantasy”（班斯式奇幻）这一说法正是源自他这类构思，可见其影响。 本书语言简洁，章节短小，适合作为英文原著的泛读材料；作为一部十九世纪末的作品，其中难免有当时的社会偏见与用语习惯，读者不妨带着历史眼光去看。全书为公版，获取容易，但对中文读者而言需接受原文阅读的可能性。Who it's for
A good fit for
- 喜欢英文经典文学、想练英文泛读的读者
- 对福尔摩斯仿作与衍生文本感兴趣的推理迷
- 偏爱英式幽默、讽刺与名人调侃的读者
- 想了解“Bangsian fantasy”源流的奇幻文学爱好者
Not a good fit for
- 期待严密本格推理、以案情复杂度为主要追求的读者
- 希望读到中译本、不便阅读英文原文的读者
- 对十九世纪末西方典故与历史人物较为陌生的初读者
Reading tips
- 建议先读系列第一部《A House-Boat on the Styx》，了解俱乐部与“家船”被劫的来由，再进入本书。
- 书中历史人物密集，可边读边查注释或背景资料，笑点会更清楚。
- 每章篇幅不长，适合每次读一两章，作为睡前或通勤的轻阅读。
- 留意作者对福尔摩斯与柯南·道尔的处理，可对照同期其他仿作一起看。
FAQ
这本书和《A House-Boat on the Styx》是什么关系？
它是该书的直接续作，也是“Associated Shades”系列的第二部。前作结尾“家船”被海盗船长基德劫走，本书正是从这里接着写会员们如何雇侦探追回船只。本书有中文译本吗？
目前未核到通行的中文译本信息，网络流传的多为英文原版或公版电子书。中文读者通常直接阅读英文原文，或借助双语对照版。福尔摩斯在书中戏份多吗？
他受聘主导追查，是整条主线的关键人物，标题中甚至写有“Under the Leadership of Sherlock Holmes”。但全书重心更多在众名人的群像互动与幽默对话。在哪里可以免费读到？
本书已进入公有领域，可在Project Gutenberg等公版书库找到电子文本，也有LibriVox的免费有声书。阅读需要什么英文水平？
语言总体偏通俗，句子不长，但含不少历史人物与文学典故，具备大学英语阅读能力、愿意查背景资料的读者会更顺畅。This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
John Kendrick Bangs Author · American · 1862–1922John Kendrick Bangs (1862–1922) was an American writer, editor, and satirist, born in Yonkers, New York, and died in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He served as associate editor of Life magazine, editor of the humor pages of the Harper's periodicals, and editor of Puck, remaining long active in the circle of American humorous journalism. Bangs originated the "Bangsian fantasy," a type of fiction set in the afterlife that turns supernatural settings such as the realms of gods and the dead into worldly stages for satire, marked by witty language and eccentric imagination. His representative works, A House-Boat on the Styx and The Inventions of the Idiot, exemplify his style of teasing human nature and society through absurd situations. His works are often classified under inspirational growth, and two titles are held in this collection. Public information is limited, but it is certain that his humorous fantasy approach has offered some inspiration to later American light satirical literature.