Satire
Mont Oriol
Young bride Christiane arrives in Auvergne to "take the waters" with her husband, described as "a sickly flower, or a sucking…
Three Dialogues
Barry Pain is today best known for his ghost and horror stories, but he could also write some excellent social satire. This series of three …
The History of Troilus and Cressida
The History of Troilus and Cressida has long baffled critics and audiences alike for its inconsistent tone, which ranges from bawdy comedy t…
The Devil is an Ass
An inferior devil, Pug, asks Satan to send him to Earth to tempt men to Evil. But when Pug arrives in 1616 London and sets himself at the Sq…
Damn! A Book of Calumny
Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken (1880 – 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of Ameri…
A Tale of a Tub
A Tale of a Tub was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697, that was eventually published in 1704. I…
Androcles and the Lion
Androcles and the Lion satirical play written in 1912 by George Bernard Shaw. It is set in Ancient Rome, and on the surface it appears to be…
The Wit and Humor of America
The Wit and Humor of America invites listeners to explore a rich tapestry of American wit through a curated collection of short stories and …
Mary Broome
Before Downton Abbey, there was Mary Broome. In Allan Monkhouse's 1911 satire, when the son of a middle-class household gets their housemaid…
Mornings at Bow Street
This is a collection of various articles found in Morning Herald columns. Some are found interesting, some may be hilarious! The 84 pieces o…
Joan and Peter
This is satirical look at the English educational system and society in the early twentieth century and the effect of World War I on them by…
The Battle of the Books
"The Battle of the Books" depicts a literal battle between books in the King's Library (housed in St James's Palace at the time of…
Froth
Clementina is losing her youth in the fashionable world of late-nineteenth century Madrid and takes a younger lover. Meanwhile her father, t…
Widowers' Houses
This is one of three plays Shaw published as Plays Unpleasant in 1898; they were termed "unpleasant" because they were intended, n…
Nicholas Nickleby
This stage adaptation of Dickens’ novel debuted in November of 1838 at the Adelphi Theater in London. Only eight installments of the story …
The Celebrity
The Celebrity is a sharp satire that explores the complexities of fame and the literary world through the lens of a young novelist's rise to…
Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich
A collection of humorous fiction by renowned Canadian writer, Stephen Leacock. Unlike the lighter Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town that pr…
The Inheritance
"As the noblest attribute of man, family pride had been cherished time immemorial by the noble race of Rossville. Deep and incurable, t…
The Follies of a Day
This is Thomas Holcroft's English translation, obtained by attending Pierre Beaumarchais' French play nine times in Paris during its origina…
The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves
Sir Launcelot Greaves goes around the country with his comic squire, trying to be a knight and perform good deeds. This novel is written in…