Dick Merriwell's Pranks; Or, Lively Times in the Orient

Dick Merriwell's Pranks immerses readers in the rollicking world of early 20th-century American adventure fiction, where two college men and their professor find trouble in the exotic locales of the Orient. The story opens with Dick Merriwell and his companion Bradley Buckhart approaching the legendary city of Constantinople, their professor Zenas Gunn in tow. But before they even disembark, chaos erupts when the respectable Gunn falls hilariously smitten with the decidedly unremarkable Miss Sarah Ann Ketchum of Boston. Their amusement curdles into genuine concern when Major Mowbry Fitts, another American passenger, enters the picture with jealous fury. The rivalry that ensues is absurd, culminating in an egg-throwing duel that would make any self-respecting Victorian gentleman weep into his whiskers. This is pure, uncut dime-novel adventure: broad humor, larger-than-life characters, and cultural clashes played for laughs. It captures an era when Americans ventured abroad with equal parts curiosity and confidence, and when popular fiction knew exactly how to deliver a good time.