The Cheerful Smugglers

Tom and Laura Fenelby want to save money for their baby Bobberts' college education. Their solution: a domestic tariff. Every item that enters their home gets taxed by the family itself. Friends arriving with wine? Toll. Family bringing groceries? Fee. The brilliance lies in their complete seriousness about the whole affair, treating their own household like a sovereign nation defending its borders. Servant Bridget watches with weary amusement as the scheme spirals. But what starts as playful domestic economics collides with reality when guests descend and the Fenelbys must choose between their whimsical revenue scheme and basic hospitality. Butler's early 20th-century satire pokes gentle fun at protectionist economics while delivering pure, infectious comedy. The joy is in the specifics: the arguments over tariff rates, the creative workarounds, the earnest debates about what qualifies as an import. For readers who miss the clever, forgotten comedies that once filled American magazines.