Pagine1869–1944 · Swanmore, Hampshire, England (raised in Ontario) · also known as Leacock
Stephen Leacock was a professor of economics at McGill University and, in his day, the best-known humorist in the English-speaking world. Literary Lapses (1910) and Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912), affectionate stories of the fictional Ontario town of Mariposa, remain classics. Canada’s prize for humour writing, the Leacock Medal, is named after him.
Begin with Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.
Part of our Canadian Classics reading list — print it, email it to yourself or share it.
Susanna Moodie · L. M. Montgomery · Gabrielle Roy · Margaret Laurence · Alice Munro · Margaret Atwood
Stephen Leacock was a professor of economics at McGill University and, in his day, the best-known humorist in the English-speaking world. Literary Lapses (1910) and Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912), affectionate stories of the fictional Ontario town of Mariposa, remain classics.
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is usually considered Stephen Leacock’s best-known work, followed by Literary Lapses, Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich.
Most readers start with Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.
Both refer to the same writer.
Many of Stephen Leacock’s works are in the public domain; we link to free editions below.