SOURCE: Wain, John. “A Jest in Season: Notes on S. J. Perelman, with a Digression on W. W. Jacobs.” In S. J. Perelman: Critical Essays, edited by Steven H. Gale, pp. 69-86. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992.

In the following essay, which was originally published in 1960, Wain compares the Jacobs's short fiction with the work of S. J. Perelman.

Why the digression? Surely there is enough material in the brilliant virtuosity and long career of S. J. Perelman to satisfy the most restless analyst?

Certainly. I have always been an admirer of Perelman, and when early last year I was so fortunate as to make his acquaintance in New York, our conversation stimulated a long-nursed wish to write an essay on his work. But whenever I look round for a comparison, a contrast, something by which to take a bearing, it is always Jacobs who comes to mind...