Satire
The Way We Live Now
The Way We Live Now is a scathing satirical novel published in London in 1875 by Anthony Trollope, after a popular serialization. It was reg…
Alice in Blunderland
From Alice in Blunderland: "Certain of our members claim that they have a right to sell their votes for $500 apiece--" "Mercy…
Orley Farm
Orley Farm is Trollope at his best (as good as the Barsetshire series), which means some of the best characterizations in the English langua…
Oblomov
Oblomov is the best known novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Oblomov is also the central character of the nove…
That Unfortunate Marriage
This is the funny, romantic, slightly tongue-in-cheek story of how little May Cheffington makes her way in the world despite being the sole …
Lady Susan
Jane Austen demonstrated her mastery of the epistolary novel genre in Lady Susan, which she wrote in 1795 but never published. Although the …
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle follows the life of its titular character, an egotistical dandy navigating the complexities of 18th-centu…
The Secret Agent
The Secret Agent tells the story of Adolf and Winnie Verloc. He is a phony anarchist and agent provocateur of the title, and the plot centre…
The Praise of Folly
The Praise of Folly (Greek title: Morias Enkomion (Μωρίας Εγκώμιον), Latin: Stultitiae Laus, sometimes translated as In Praise of Folly, Dut…
The Priceless Pearl
Pearl Leavitt is habitually fired from her New York City office jobs for being "too beautiful" and thereby causing all the men to …
Miss Mapp
E. F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia series, consists of six novels and three short stories. The novels are: Queen Lucia, Lucia in London, Miss Map…
Little Dorrit
Born in the Marshalsea Prison for Debtors, Amy—Little Dorrit—the daughter of the ruined, but self-respectful William Dorrit, has put her ent…
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is a sharp and satirical exploration of morality and hypocrisy, penned by the renowned Mark Twain. Set in …
The Wonderful Visit
An other-worldly creature visits a small English village, and H. G. Wells uses humour and satire to convey some of the imperfections of Vict…
The Way of All Flesh
The Way of All Flesh (1903) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler which attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 an…
The Idiot
The Idiot is anything but, yet his fellow boarders at Mrs. Smithers-Pedagog’s home for single gentlemen see him as such. His brand of creati…
Self and Self-management
Bennett's essays always provide food for thought and bring a wry smile to the lips. Human nature, it appears, changes little over the ages, …
Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels is a satirical adventure that takes readers on a journey through fantastical lands, exploring the absurdities of human na…
The Bishop's Apron
"Canon Spratte saw himself as he thought others might see him: mediocre, pompous, self-assertive, verbose." Maugham could have add…
Knickerbocker's History of New York
Washington Irving, an author, biographer, historian, and diplomat, completed his first major work, a satire of contemporary local history an…