2 h 37 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 37 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if spring restlessness leads straight to stolen bonds, a lively chase, and love you never planned to find?
In The Madness of May, Meredith Nicholson brings together stolen bonds, money, and mischief in a lighthearted adventure. Spring sets the mood: old habits loosen, plans go astray, and the urge to wander opens the way to trouble. The pace stays quick, with a warm tone that invites you to enjoy the confusion rather than dread it.
Romance enters where nobody thinks to look for it. With a chase underway and other matters demanding attention, love has room to arrive by surprise. Nicholson keeps the pleasures simple: clear, polished prose, scenes built to entertain, and the cheerful sense that a change of season can also mean a change of plans.
What you’ll discover
- Spring without a plan Feel the restless pull of May, when familiar habits give way to wandering.
- Money and mischief Follow an adventure of stolen bonds, where financial trouble shares the stage with comic confusion.
- A lively chase Enjoy a quick pace that keeps the story moving from trouble toward fresh complications.
- Love arrives sideways Discover the pleasure of unexpected romance when other concerns seem to fill the day.
- A warm escape Settle into clear prose and entertaining scenes, with gentle comedy rather than dark drama.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy breezy comedy, charming eccentrics, spring weather and a romance that begins over a wall by moonlight. It suits readers who like a good talker turning a bad week into an adventure.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger listens without judging
- A slipper chooses the road
- A handmade moon invites wonder
- The suitcase opens another mystery
- An uninvited dinner reveals familiar faces
- Play helps people face their troubles
- Masks can make honesty possible
- The world becomes a playful stage
- A bad week allows another outlook
Who’s who
- Billy DeeringA young banker's son who has taken bonds that are not his and, rescued by Hood, begins to wonder if life can be lighter.
- R. HoodA bearded, talkative wanderer who loves jails, newspapers and opera, and who decides to play big brother to Billy.
- PierretteA brown-eyed girl who dances in a clown suit, hangs a moon in a tree and refuses to tell Billy her real name.
- CassowaryHood's young chauffeur, a rich man's son once ready to give up on life, who carries a secret love.
- Constance DeeringBilly's sister, a golf champion, who turns up as a secretary named Smeraldina and has her own reasons for silence.
- Ned RanscombBilly's missing friend, whose copper deal started the trouble, and who is said to be chasing a girl.
- BabetteA graceful maid at the bungalow who serves breakfast, sits down with the guests and speaks of a love she regrets losing.
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The Madness of May 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.
The Madness of May
by Meredith Nicholson · 1917
A runaway banker's son, a tramp with scissors and a girl who hangs a moon in a tree share one wild May.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if you had stolen a fortune in bonds, lost them in a train station, and then found a cheerful stranger with a pair of scissors sitting in your bedroom? Billy Deering has no good answer.
The Madness of May at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 30 min1 h 10 min fast, 1 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 21,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1917by Meredith Nicholson
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 stranger waits in Billy's bedroom
Billy Deering comes home to his father's house and learns from the butler that a guest named Hood has arrived. Billy has no guest in mind. His hand shakes, because he has stolen two hundred thousand dollars in bonds from his father's banking firm. He is sure this Hood is the man sent to arrest him.
He climbs the stairs and finds a tall, bearded man with his legs on the table. Newspapers cover the floor. The stranger is calmly clipping items out of them with a small pair of scissors. He greets Billy as if they were old friends.
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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
- 1917
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Nicholson, Meredith. The Madness of May. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-madness-of-may.
Nicholson, M. (2026). The madness of May. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-madness-of-may (Original work published 1917)
Nicholson, Meredith. The Madness of May. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-madness-of-may.
@book{nicholson2026madness,
author = {Nicholson, Meredith},
title = {The Madness of May},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-madness-of-may},
note = {First published 1917}
}
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What is The Madness of May about?
It follows Billy Deering, a young banker's son who loses stolen bonds and falls in with a cheerful wanderer named Hood. Together they follow a slipper's direction through a spring of masked strangers, moonlit meetings and comic surprises.
Who is Hood in The Madness of May?
Hood is a bearded, talkative vagabond who loves jails, newspapers, opera and lobster. He names himself after Robin Hood and becomes Billy's guide. His true past is a puzzle that the book keeps teasing the reader with.
What does the madness of May mean in the book?
It is the restless urge to leave work and routine and go out into the spring air for fun. Characters call it a fever, a spell or a lark. The book treats it as a cure for worry.
The author
Meredith Nicholson
1866–1947 · American novelist and diplomat
Meredith Nicholson (1866–1947) was an American novelist and diplomat. He was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and lived for much of his life in Indianapolis. He wrote The House of a Thousand Candles, published in 1905. He also served as a United States diplomatic representative in Paraguay, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
More by Meredith Nicholson
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