In 1846 Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense was first published and the limerick craze began. Sparkling Limericks follows in the great crazy tradition of this well-loved verse form, which is to say that it is full of earthy humour, wacky wordplay and excruciating rhymes to set the reader laughing and groaning. The handsome young fellow from Clwyd makes a notable appearance here, perhaps for the first time in a limerick, and the old man from Dubrovnik proves to be an even greater rhyming challenge.