3 h 10 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 10 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the dead could type—and famous names still had vanities and grudges to share?
In The Enchanted Typewriter, a writer gains a strange link to the world of the dead. His typewriter receives words from the shades of well-known historical figures. John Kendrick Bangs turns this unlikely connection into a light comic fantasy, where great reputations meet the small, familiar business of being human.
These comic stories explore the strange machine, the voices of famous figures, and what remains of fame beyond the grave. The first-person narrator stays slightly bewildered while the dead take the best lines. Puns, asides, and comic understatement keep the conversation quick, with affection softening the satire rather than sharpening it into cruelty.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely connection Discover a typewriter that turns contact with the dead into an occasion for comedy.
- Fame with its guard down Meet historical shades whose grand reputations leave plenty of room for ordinary human vanity.
- Voices full of character Enjoy famous figures speaking in ways that play on the legends surrounding them.
- Questions beneath the jokes Look past the playful chatter to a quiet curiosity about fame and what lasts.
- Pleasure in short sittings Follow a conversational voice through puns, quick exchanges, and gently bewildered observations.
Who will love it
For readers who love gentle satire, ghost comedy and Victorian-era humor, and anyone who enjoys imagining famous people chatting about their vanities and grudges.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A typewriter with a link to the dead
- Great names speak in their own manner
- What the jokes quietly say about fame
- A light voice that rewards short sittings
Formats and delivery
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- Audiobook
- 3 h 10 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Die verzauberte Schreibmaschine
by John Kendrick Bangs · 1899
A writer's typewriter connects him to the dead, giving famous figures a fresh chance to air their vanities and grudges.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Enchanted Typewriter is a light comic fantasy by John Kendrick Bangs, an American humorist who wrote at the end of the nineteenth century. Its idea is simple and sharp.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A typewriter with a link to the dead
The book begins with its central device. A modern machine, the typewriter, was a new and slightly strange tool in the 1890s. Bangs turns it into a kind of spiritual telephone. The writer who owns it finds that it does not only type what he wants, but also what others wish to say through it.
This gives the book its shape. Instead of one long plot, it offers a series of sketches, each built around a message or a visit from beyond. The writer plays the part of a puzzled, good-humored host and recorder. He is a stand-in for the reader, who is meant to enjoy the oddity rather than question how it works.
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What is The Enchanted Typewriter about?
It is a comic fantasy about a writer whose typewriter is linked to the dead, so that figures from history send their words through it. The book is a series of humorous sketches rather than one long plot.
Who wrote The Enchanted Typewriter and when?
John Kendrick Bangs, an American humorist, wrote it. It dates from around 1899, in the same period as his other comic tales of ghosts and the afterlife.
Is The Enchanted Typewriter a true story?
No. It is a work of humorous fiction. Whatever the figures who appear, their talk is invented by Bangs for comic effect and satire.
The author
John Kendrick Bangs
1862–1922 · American humorist and satirist
John Kendrick Bangs was an American author, editor and satirist. He was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1862 and died in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1922. He wrote novels, short stories and verse. His books include A House-Boat on the Styx (1895) and The Enchanted Typewriter (1899).
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