Paste Jewels is John Kendrick Bangs at his most delightful: a串 comic chronicle of newlyweds Thaddeus and Jane Perkins as they stumble through the indignities of domestic life. Beginning on their wedding day, we watch this starry-eyed couple discover that marriage involves far more than romance: there are cooks who quit on zero notice, servants who interpret instructions with alarming creativity, and the endless comedy of two people learning to share a home. Bangs writes with a wit that feels almost modern his observations about the small wars of household management, the affectionate exasperation of married life, and the peculiar challenges of late-Victorian servants remain sharp. The title itself is a small joke: what are these paste jewels? Perhaps the absurd little crises that feel enormous at the time, or perhaps the real treasure is the humor that makes a marriage survive. Either way, this is comfort reading with real teeth.
