Satire
The Judgment of Eve
May Sinclair was a prolific author, literary critic, and feminist activist, famous in Britain and the US in the 1910’s and 20’s. The Judgmen…
The History of Pompey the Little
"Pompey, the son of Julio and Phyllis, was born A.D. 1735, at Bologna in Italy, a place famous for lap-dogs and sausages." At an e…
Mrs. Pretty and The Premier
The Premier has decided that being married would be good for his image. He asks his stenographer for advice: (Premier) Good. Just jot me dow…
Love and Freindship
Love and Freindship [sic] is a juvenile story by Jane Austen, dated 1790, when Austen was 14 years old. Love and Freindship (the misspelling…
In the Sweet Dry and Dry
Written just before Prohibition to entail the possible troubles that might happen en route. Both sides of the argument, or battle as the cas…
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. The piece satirises Italia…
Candida
This play tells the story of Candida, the wife of a famous clergyman, the Reverend James Mavor Morell. Morell is a Christian Socialist, po…
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang
"Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" was an iconic magazine of wit and humor launched by W.H. Fawcett in 1919. Each 64-page issue was packe…
The Princess Pourquoi
Once upon a time, a princess was born, and a fairy cursed her with a mind: "She is a woman-child, and yet she shall think. She shall be…
The Magnificent Lovers
"The King [Louis XIV], who will have nothing but what is magnificent in all he undertakes, wished to give his court an entertainment wh…
The New Republic
A group of upper class men and women gather together in an English country house to discuss their ideas for a utopia (their "New Republ…
Mr. Punch's Pocket Ibsen
These short comic parodies of five well-known tragedies by Henrik Ibsen originally appeared in Punch, the British humor magazine. From the p…
The Vegetable
"Any man who doesn’t want to get on in the world, to make a million dollars, and maybe even park his toothbrush in the White House, has…
The Wit and Humor of America
The Wit and Humor of America is a delightful anthology that captures the essence of American wit through a collection of 55 short stories an…
Monsieur De Pourceaugnac
'Monsieur de Pourceaugnac', acted on October 6, 1669, is nothing but a farce. But Molière excels in farce as well as in higher comedy…
The Knight of the Burning Pestle
The Knight of the Burning Pestle is a play in five acts, first performed in 1607. It is the first whole parody (or pastiche) play in English…
The Conscious Lovers
As early as 1720 Steele spoke in the Theatre of "a friend of mine" who was lately preparing a comedy according to the just laws of…
The Green Carnation
The Green Carnation, first published anonymously in 1894, was a scandalous novel by Robert Hichens whose lead characters are closely based o…
The Litigants
This play, which is neither a comedy or a farce but has elements in common with each, was first performed in 1668 at Paris, and afterwards a…
Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen
Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen ist ein satirisches Versepos des deutschen Dichters Heinrich Heine (1797–1856). Unzufrieden mit den poli…