John Kendrick Bangs

The Enchanted Type-Writer illustrated John Kendrick Bangs

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) is without doubt one of the most prolific writers of fantastic novels and stories set in Hades. The three works which comprise his "Hades" series, A Houseboat on the Styx (1895), Pursuit of the Houseboat (1897), and The Enchanted Type-Writer (1899) are acknowledged classics of modern fantasy, precursors to works by Thorne Smith (Topper), Philip Jose Farmer (The Fabulous Riverboat), and many others. The Enchanted Type-Writer stands alone; you do not have to have read the first two novels to enjoy it fully. At the turn of the 20th century, when copyright laws were less rigidly enforced than they probably should have been, Bangs felt free to "borrow" other writers' characters, including two of the most famous.