The limerick has a curious history. First appearing as the innocent Mother Goose rhyme, it came into full flower with Edward Lear, the uncontested master of the form who composed more than 200 of the classic ditties. Its deceptive simplicity and contagious rhythms have attracted such eminent writers as Rudyard Kipling, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Lewis Carroll, Ogden Nash, and John Galsworthy, not to mention legions of naughty schoolboys who continue to delight in its shock value. This book collects some exemplary limericks, grouped in six sections: Old Classics, Current Favorites, Tricks and Puzzles, Simply Ridiculous, Lightly Amatory, and Rollicking and Rowdy (the last two sections include paraphrased versions of what previously was considered unprintable!). Illustrated with black-and-white cartoons by R. Taylor.