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Audiobook edition · 5 h 0 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when people who live by their wits trust luck more than their own judgment?
In Lady Luck, Hugh Wiley brings chance and folly together in a lively work of American humor. The irrepressible Wildcat belongs to a picaresque world, where a rogue moves from one episode to the next. Loose schemes meet uncertain fortune, and clever talk offers no guarantee that things will go to plan.
Luck acts like another character: it lifts people up, drops them down and makes a joke of their plans. Pride, greed, vanity and overconfidence give fortune plenty to work with. Wiley's slang, exaggeration and casual tone carry the fun, making small events feel large and bad judgment a source of comic trouble.
What you’ll discover
- An irrepressible central rogue Meet Wildcat in a comic world where living by your wits leaves room for folly.
- Fortune with other plans Follow the pull of chance as it unsettles schemes and laughs at human confidence.
- The comedy of overconfidence See how pride and vanity turn uncertain luck into fertile ground for trouble.
- Talk that carries the tale Enjoy slang and exaggeration that give small events the swagger of much bigger ones.
- Adventure from episode to episode Step into a picaresque tale whose movement follows a rogue rather than a grand design.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love fast comic talk, tall tales and rogues who land on their feet. It is made for anyone who enjoys a road story of train cars, dice games and one stubborn goat.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The Wildcat brings trouble home
- Revenge works through other people
- A train job begins in chaos
- Loyalty sends him off course
- Easy money never stays still
- Lily gives luck a living shape
- Honey Tone sells what work earns
- Talk and dice carry the story
- Cunning and kindness keep him moving
Who’s who
- The Wildcat (Vitus Marsden)A sleepy, hungry army veteran who cannot read, loves dice, and wants only food, rest and his goat.
- LilyThe Wildcat's mascot goat, who eats anything, answers with a bleat, and is his charm for good fortune.
- Honey Tone BooneA smooth-talking uplifter and gambler who sells grand promises and keeps one step ahead of his wife and creditors.
- Backslid BaptistA Pullman porter and old friend who teaches the Wildcat the sleeping-car trade and gets him started on the rails.
- Mud Turtle (Dwindle Daniels)A tidy porter who joins the Wildcat in the fish business and ends up covered in river mud.
- Cuspidora LeeThe Wildcat's old landlady, who hosts the Ouija party and hopes to marry the Colonel.
- Captain JackThe Wildcat's old army officer and employer, whose home in Memphis provides the Wildcat with work and meals.
- Trombone (Pike Canfield)A San Francisco slide-horn player who tells the Wildcat about a job on the docks and an investment.
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Lady Luck in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Lady Luck
by Hugh Wiley · 1921
A sleepy soldier and his goat ride the rails west, trading luck for trouble and trouble for luck at every stop.
Easy read2–5 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with easy classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
How does a man win a fortune at dice, lose it before supper, and still lie down for a nap with a smile? Meet Vitus Marsden, known as the Wildcat, a lazy, hungry, lucky soldier just home from France, with a mascot goat named Lily at his heels.
Lady Luck at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 55 min2 h 20 min fast, 3 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 41,700 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1921by Hugh Wiley
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A veteran and his goat reach Memphis
The book opens in a Memphis railway lunchroom. The Wildcat, just back from the war, argues over the price of coffee and drags a road-weary goat named Lily on a string. He answers every insult with a joke and a cigar. He is hungry, quick of tongue and never in a hurry to work.
He has come home with his old officer, Captain Jack. At the captain's house he meets the new cook, a very large woman, and he lists the exact meal he wants. Then comes a small surprise. The cook's husband is Huntington Boone, a man the Wildcat knows well from the gambling tables of France.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1921
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 15 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Wiley, Hugh. Lady Luck. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/lady-luck.
Wiley, H. (2026). Lady Luck. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lady-luck (Original work published 1921)
Wiley, Hugh. Lady Luck. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lady-luck.
@book{wiley2026lady,
author = {Wiley, Hugh},
title = {Lady Luck},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lady-luck},
note = {First published 1921}
}
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What is Lady Luck by Hugh Wiley about?
It follows the Wildcat, a lazy veteran home from France, and his goat Lily as they ride trains, win and lose at dice, run into schemers and travel from Memphis to San Francisco.
Who is Honey Tone Boone?
Honey Tone Boone is a fast-talking gambler and self-styled uplifter who keeps meeting the Wildcat. He sells grand schemes, runs from creditors and has a wife and a sweetheart who both want him.
Who is Lily in Lady Luck?
Lily is the Wildcat's mascot goat, brought home from the war with ribbons and later dressed in a service coat. He treats her as his good-luck charm, and she follows him from trains to docks.
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