The Croaker, or The Miseries of Human Life

The Miseries of Human Life is a humorous dialogue between two old curmudgeons, the book details the “petty outrages, minor humiliations, and tiny discomforts that make up everyday human existence.” Written in 1806 by James Beresford (1764–1840), it was published as The Miseries of Human Life, or, The Groans of Samuel Sensitive and Timothy Testy by W. Miller in 1806- with a frontispiece by William Henry Pyne (1769–1843) - it became a minor classic in the satirical literature of the day. Apparently the public loved it, so dozens of editions were published, while printmakers rushed to illustrate their own versions of life’s miseries.