Coffee and Repartee and The Idiot: Two Classic Works

Coffee and Repartee and The Idiot are companion pieces of sparkling comic fiction, centered on a series of breakfast-table debates led by an eccentric lodger known only as "The Idiot." Through rapid-fire exchanges, he disarms and delights his more serious-minded companions with a blend of absurd reasoning and earnest charm. What begins as nonsense gradually reveals sly insights into society, intellect, and human behavior. Set in a New York boardinghouse and composed largely of dialogue, these works showcase Bangss flair for humor and parody in the Gilded Age. The result is a light but layered satire that still entertains with its clever repartee and gentle critique of conventional wisdom.

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American author, satirist, and editor of Puck Magazine. Coffee and Repartee and The Idiot are linked novellas.