Recommended by Joseph:
Harry Graham was morbid WAY before it was cool! This master of the macabre was writing horrible little gems of black humor before Edward Gorey was even a glimmer in his mama's ovary. Fans of morbid humor should check out his 1899 masterpiece, "Ruthless Rhymes For Heartless Homes," for a non-stop gigglefest. I mean, with rhymes such as this, how can you possibly lose?

Father heard his Children scream,
So he threw them in the stream,
Saying, as he drowned the third,
"Children should be seen, not heard!"

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Product Description

For readers with an aversion to syrupy verse: a delightful, inexpensively priced collection of vintage verse with an amusingly irreverent mood. Forty-nine examples of rare 19th-century black humor—each accompanied by clever drawings—will delight readers with their stinging humor and outrageous wit.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #858090 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-27
• Format: Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

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Customer Reviews

Ghastly Little Willie
The antidote for Barney and Mr Rogers. These are short rhymes from a time when children were not so PC. A delightfully gruesome acceptance of children's fascination with the dark and gory.

Hysterical
The best in mean-spirited doggerel. The poetry's not great, but then again, its not supposed to be. If you like the twisted writings of Edward Gorey, this book will make you laugh out loud, and if you share it with people who do not share your outlook, will make them look at you like you just squished a puppy in front of them.

A delightful collection of misanthropic mischief
"Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes and More Ruthless Rhymes," by Harry Graham, is a hilarious collection of humorous poetry that succeeded in making me laugh out loud. A bibliographic note on the copyright page states that the Dover Thrift Edition "is a slightly altered republication of the works originally published in 1899 and 1930 by Edward Arnold, Ltd."

The book contains a series of vicious and macabre rhymes accompanied by entertaining pictures. The poems' topics include death, accidents, cruelty towards the elderly, firearms mishaps, illness, marital discord, and murder of children. A typical poem is "L'Enfant Glace," which begins, "When Baby's cries grew hard to bear, / I popped him in the Frigidaire." A savage mockery of the human condition, "Ruthless Rhymes" is absurd, grotesque, gleefully sadistic--and lots of fun!