The titles included in this reader:
Ade's Fables
Fables in Slang
In Pastures New
Knocking the Neighbors
More Fables
People You Know
The Slim Princess
While his humor depicts Midwestern speech and manners, it also reflects mannerisms found in late 19th-century America as well. Like Ade himself, his characters also found humor in everyday experiences, mocked pretentious social situations, and tried not take life too seriously. Using a writing style similar to Mark Twain's, Ade was adept in the use of the American language. Ade's fables in slang," for example, were written in the American colloquial vernacular. He also offered genial satire and provided "a social record of how ridiculous some people make themselves."
