Satire
The Gentle Grafter
If Jefferson "Parleyvoo" Pickens had appeared in print just a few years later, he might have been the "Gentle Grifter" i…
Castle Rackrent
"One of the most inspired chronicles written in English" was the verdict of William Butler Yeats on the novel Castle Rackrent by M…
The Autobiography of Methuselah
The Autobiography of Methuselah offers a unique and humorous perspective on biblical history through the eyes of its most ancient figure. Me…
Dangerous Connections
A translation of 'Les Liaisons dangereuses' alternative title 'Dangerous Liasons'Everyone probably has Glenn Close and John Malkovich in mi…
Zadig or the Book of Fate
Zadig, ou La Destinée, ("Zadig, or The Book of Fate") (1747) is a famous novel written by the French Enlightenment philosop…
Aphorisms
In Aphorisms, Oscar Wilde presents a collection of sharp, insightful observations that blend humor with profound wisdom. Originally publishe…
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker was the last of the picaresque novels of Tobias Smollett, and is considered by many to be his best and fun…
The Revolt of the Angels
Anatole France, in his satirical and allegorical fashion, weaves a tale of fantasy which finds a mischievous guardian angel stealing books f…
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Thea…
Still Untouched by Human Hands
Long before Douglas Adams, Robert Sheckley pioneered the sub-genre of satirical science fiction. When space operas ruled, Robert Sheckley sa…
Rameau's Nephew
Rameau's Nephew is a thought-provoking philosophical dialogue by Denis Diderot that delves into the complexities of human nature and society…
The Importance of Being Earnest
In this most popular of all Oscar Wilde’s plays, two fashionable bachelors, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, discover that each has bee…
The Misanthrope
Alceste, the misanthrope, hates everyone including himself. But unlike in many pure farces with their cliche stock characters, the character…
The Pickwick Papers
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, better known as The Pickwick Papers, is the first novel by Charles Dickens. Written for publicat…
Penguin Island
The novel (original French title -- L'Île des Pingouins) is a satire on human nature. The first publication was in 1908. These penguin…
Roads of Destiny
This is another collection of O. Henry short stories. - Summary by Sid
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
This is a satirical novel written by Edwin A. Abbott, first published in 1884. Abbott uses a two-dimensional world, with himself as the prot…
The Blazing World
The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish is, all at once, a satire, a treatise on natural philosophy, a work of proto-science fiction, and a …
Flatland
Math. Geometry. Physics. Violence? Is this the same book I read in school? Yep.
One of the joys of rediscovering old books is that they…
1601: Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside
1601: Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside invites listeners into a lively and irreverent dialogue set in the Elizabethan era. Mar…