I know someone who knows someone who named their son Morley after this author. While killing twenty minutes at a pretty awesome used book store, it occurred to me to look for any of Christopher Morley’s books, since they are evidently out of print. Parnassus on Wheels, at $2.50, was the right price, so I picked it up to bring with me to work the next day as a quick, fun read.
And that’s what it was, quick and fun. It’s about Helen McGill, a middle-aged woman who runs the farm for her brother Andrew, a popular New England author in the vein of Thoreau. One day, a unique horse and cart appears at her front door–Parnassus on Wheels, run by an eccentric ex-schoolteacher named Mifflin, is a moving bookshop. Mifflin wants to sell Parnassus to Andrew, but to prevent her brother from abandoning the farm for a trip around the countryside, Helen buys Parnassus herself.
What ensue are homey and homely pleasures as Helen brings literature to the common farmer and Mifflin never does end up getting to the train station. After altercations with homeless men and her brother Andrew in pursuit, Helen and Mifflin (and Bock the dog and Peg the horse) decide that Parnassus and each other are to valueable to give up. With charming illustrations and plenty of action and philosophical musing, this 1917 novella is not only a pleasant afternoon but also a justification for the eternal importance of reading.
7.5 / 10.0.
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