Satire Books

The Devil's Dictionary

Ambrose Bierce

The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical dictionary written by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce consisting of common words followed by humorous and satirical definitions. The le..

The Way We Live Now

Anthony Trollope

The Way We Live Now is a satirical novel by Anthony Trollope, published in London in 1875 after first appearing in serialised form. It is one of the last significant Victorian novels to have been publ..

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

The shortest of Charles Dickens’s novels, Hard Times is also his most pointed and impassioned satire of social injustice. Set in Coketown, a fictional industrial town in the north of England, Hard Tim..

Candide, ou, L'optimisme

Voltaire

Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide:..

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia

Samuel Johnson

In this enchanting fable (subtitled The Choice of Life), Rasselas and his retinue burrow their way out of the totalitarian paradise of the Happy Valley in search of that triad of eighteenth-century as..

Condensed Novels - New Burlesques

Bret Harte

Condensed Novels: New Burlesques is collection of parody stories written by Bret Harte, an American short-story writer and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gambl..

Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich

Stephen Leacock

Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich is a work of humorous fiction by Stephen Leacock first published in 1914. It is the follow-up to his 1912 classic "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town." Like that..

L'Ingénu

Voltaire

L'Ingénu is a satirical novella by the French writer Voltaire, published in 1767. It tells the story of a Huron Indian transported to the sophistication of eighteenth century Paris, and satirizes reli..