''Happy Days, 1880–1892'' (1940) is the first of an autobiographical trilogy by

H.L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

, covering his days as a child in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland from birth through age twelve. It was followed by ''Newspaper Days, 1899–1906'' (1941) and ''Heathen Days, 1890–1936'' (1943). The book was received with some surprise by Mencken's readers, since, unlike his commentaries on current events, it is written with great warmth and affection. Mencken's childhood was apparently happy and secure, and he enjoyed both living through it and reminiscing about it in later years.

Editions

* ''Happy Days: Mencken's Autobiography: 1880-1892'' (

Johns Hopkins University Press The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

: Bumcombe Collection, 2006)

External links

1940 non-fiction books Books by H. L. Mencken Literary autobiographies {{lit-bio-book-stub