"The Flyers" has nothing to do with aviation. The title refers to trains, though it's not about this mode of transport either, although they do feature in this 1907 publication.

In short, it's a story about two couples, both marrying an opposite to their station in society, and to avoid all interfering busybodies, each pair decides to elope at the same time. Each party is unaware of the other until a chance meeting occurs, which throws everything into chaos for the rest of the tale.

At times this novella reads like P. G. Wodehouse or like Thomas Hardy. It is amusing, yet - a little like Charles Dickens - it occasionally proves confusing, owing to the number of characters in certain scenes.

In fact, at the start I was faced with so many characters at once that I thought I wouldn't get into it, but once the mood shifts over to concentrate on the two couples the story immediately improves.

It does become a little complex again towards the end though, as the narrator consistently name-checks different characters in the final scenes.

I would've rated this four stars had it been a little more concise at the start and finish. Well worth reading if you like George Barr McCutcheon in humorous mode. ( )