The Idler's Club: Humour and Mass Readership from Jerome K. Jerome to P. G. Wodehouse by Laura Kasson Fiss (review).

The main focus of the text is Laura Kasson Fiss's monograph *The Idler's Club: Humour and Mass Readership from Jerome K. Jerome to P. G. Wodehouse*, which examines the role of humour and literary clubs in late Victorian popular culture through the lens of *The Idler* magazine and its "Idler's Club" column. Fiss explores how the club functioned as a metaphor for literary sociability, social mobility, and class-based leisure, highlighting contributions from notable authors such as Jerome K. Jerome, Robert Barr, J. M. Barrie, Israel Zangwill, Barry Pain, and P. G. Wodehouse. The book also addresses issues of gender, inclusion, and the social dynamics of humour, supported by quantitative data on contributors, including women writers. This study offers valuable insights into New Humour and Victorian print culture, making it a significant resource for researchers interested in late nineteenth-century literature and social history.