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Last edited by bitnapper
November 10, 2022 | History
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Thorne Smith

1892 - 1934

James Thorne Smith, Jr. (March 27, 1892 – June 20, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two Topper novels, comic fantasy fiction involving sex, much drinking and ghosts. With racy illustrations, these sold millions of copies in the 1930s and were equally popular in paperbacks of the 1950s.

Smith drank as steadily as his characters; James Thurber's The Years with Ross tells the story of Smith's unexplained week-long disappearance. When asked why he hadn't called-in sick, he retorted, "The telephone was in the hall and there was a draft." Smith was born in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a Navy commodore, and attended Dartmouth College. Following hungry years in Greenwich Village, working part-time as an advertising agent, Smith achieved meteoric success with the publication of Topper in 1926. He was an early resident of Free Acres, a social experimental community developed by Bolton Hall according to the economic principles of Henry George in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. He died of a heart attack in 1934 while vacationing in Florida.

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  • Cover of: Stray Lambs

    First published in 2007 16 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Topper takes a trip

    First published in 1932 13 editions in 2 languages — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Topper

    First published in 1926 12 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition topper0000smit
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  • Cover of: Turnabout

    First published in 1931 11 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition turnabout00thor
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  • Cover of: Night Life of the Gods

    First published in 1931 9 editions in 1 language — 4 previewable Cover of edition nightlifeofgods0000smit_g5c4 Cover of edition nightlifeofgods00smit Cover of edition nightlifeofgods00smit
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  • Cover of: The Passsionate Witch

    First published in 1941 8 editions in 2 languages — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: The stray lamb

    First published in 1929 7 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Bishop's Jaegers

    First published in 1932 7 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Rain in the Doorway

    First published in 1935 7 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Topper Takes a Trip

    First published in 1932 7 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Skin and bones

    First published in 1933 6 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Biltmore Oswald: the diary of a hapless recruit

    First published in 1994 6 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Skin and Bones

    First published in 1948 5 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Topper: y los fantasmas joviales

    First published in 2001 5 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable
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  • Cover of: Stray Lamb Annotated

    First published in 2021 5 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Night Life of the Gods Annotated

    First published in 2020 4 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Stray Lamb

    First published in 2021 4 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Thorne Smith: the Bishop's Jaegers-Original Edition

    First published in 2020 4 editions in 1 language
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  • Cover of: Biltmore Oswald : the diary of a hapless recruit

    First published in 1918 4 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition biltmoreoswaldd00smitgoog
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  • Cover of: Out O' Luck: Biltmore Oswald Very Much at Sea

    First published in 2018 3 editions
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Photo of Thorne Smith
Subjects
Fiction, American Science fiction, Fiction, humorous, Bank employees, Fiction, science fiction, general, Greek Gods, Romans, Banques, Capitalists and financiers, Commuters, Executives, Fiction, general, Fiction, ghost, Fiction, humorous, general, Fiction, romance, general, Fountain of Youth, Ghost stories, Humor, caricatures, Humorous stories, Large type books, Man-woman relationships, Marins, Marriage, Personnel, Photographers, fiction
Places
United States, Broadway (New York, N.Y.)
Time
Prohibition era, Prohibition-era American suburbia

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Alternative names

  • Thorne Jr. Smith

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
November 10, 2022 Edited by bitnapper Edited without comment.
September 30, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot add ISNI
April 1, 2020 Edited by mountainaxe Edited without comment.
April 1, 2020 Edited by mountainaxe Added new photo
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import