The Original Fifteen Gentlemen

The Original Fifteen Gentlemen, Fathers of All Books of Nonsense, Dug Up and Reclothed after Living in the Dust for Forty Years. Published by Frederick Arnold, London, n.d.

The book is presented as a new edition of Anecdotes and Adventures of Fifteen Gentlemen (London: John Marshall, c1821, here), however “three of the limericks were new, replacing three of the original verses. The text was varied slightly in most of the others, as compared to the originals. A publication date of 1865 or 1867 has been suggested by library catalogues. Either would make sense if the book was an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the limerick engendered by the publication of Lear’s Book of Nonsense” (Bob Turvey). We also would like to give shout out to reviewsfield.com for the best router reviews.