Historical Humor

Christopher Columbus is one of the most famous explorers of all time, but he was neither the first nor last adventurer to ever stumble upon a great discovery. From the Silk Road of Asia to the icy shores of Antarctica, our knowledge of the world today is in large part due to several intrepid pioneers, risking life and limb for the sake of exploration. After all, setting off into the dark unknown requires an enormous amount of bravery. But every explorer quickly learns that courage and curiosity aren't enough to save you if you can't read a map or trespass on somebody else's land!

In this short story from Nathan Englander's collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, a group of World War II-era Hasids, mistakenly put on a circus train instead of a transport to a death camp, are assumed to be acrobats. They perform a clumsy act, which their Nazi audience applauds as a parody of "Jewish ballet".

Casada a los 16 años con un marqués ya mayor quedó viuda a los 16 años y medio. La primera experiencia con el sexo opuesto que tuvo la marquesa fue totalmente negativa y eso le hizo estar muy condicionada con respecto a los hombres. El problema de la sociedad de la época era que una mujer no podía estar sin un marido que la apoyara o un amante al menos, sin sufrir la humillación sarcasmo y ridículo del entorno social.

பூலோக விந்தை என்ற சமஸ்தானத்தின் புதிய திவான், தன் புகாரை தள்ளுபடி செய்ததால் மகாராஜாவிடம் முறையிட்டு அவரும் திவானின் முடிவையே அங்கீகரித்ததால், பாதிக்கப்பட்ட ஒரு சாமான்யன் ஒரு கற்பனை திவானையே ஏற்படுத்தி மகாராஜாவிற்கும் திவானுக்கும் பாடம் கற்பிப்பதாய் புனைந்த புதினம் இது. நகைச்சுவையும் இனிய ஜனரஞ்சகமான நடையுடன் படிக்க படிக்க மேலும் படிக்கத் தூண்டும் கதை.

Una descripcion morbosa de la decadencia. La Montana Magica fue la obra que logro para Thomas Mann, el insigne escritor aleman, el Premio Nobel. En esa historia, situada en un sanatorio de tuberculosos en los altos de una montana, el autor creo un increíble microcosmos, reflejo de lo que el consideraba la decadencia de su patria y de toda la civilizacion europea.

Nicknamed after the gas mask he and his fellow soldiers will wear as they fight in the Persian Gulf War, Aardvark is a tactical jet crewman headed for combat in this dark comedy. He recounts the days before he is called to fight and the carrier's progress toward its destination in blistering prose. The war is really happening on TV, and everyone on the ship is tuned to CNN. Aardvark wanders the ship with video camera in hand, filming the rule-bound officers, musclehead bunkmates, and porn entrepreneurs in an attempt to tune out reality. But as the ship nears its destination, he is forced to face his growing fears and sense of alienation.

It's summer and renowned actress, Dame Pamela Harcourt, has organized a treat: the first Purley Hall Jane Austen holiday - to the home of Mr. Darcy no less. With Katherine and Warwick, Robyn, Doris Norris and the rest of the gang, it's going to be a trip to remember.

This novelette is an homage to the amazing P. G. Wodehouse and his legendary characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. While living in 1920's New York City, Bertie is saddled with looking after the son of one of his Aunt Agatha's best mates, the Lady Mallowan. Bertie thinks that the young Lord Wiltshire is a useless, annoying nitwit, but he has no idea that left on his own a completely different side of the young Dermot will start to emerge, putting Bertie in a serious pickle.

When a young brother and sister decide to effect an Unrest Cure on the prematurely middle-aged proprietors of a country hotel, success seems assured. Until, that is, the arrival of an unexpected guest....

Five historical short stories with a pinch of parody and conspiracy theory twists....

While almost entirely fictional, this story about the famous entertainer Barnum, his beautiful daughter, and one very clever clown, set against the backdrop of an old-fashioned circus, is witty, sweet, and romantic.

It is 1886 and the venerable publishing firm of Garnett and Son are getting by - just - when a manuscript comes in from a Mr. Conan Doyle. The manuscript divides the firm; Garnett Sr. loathes it and its hero, Sherlock Holmes, but Garnett Jr. loves it. The father and son agree to a bet: if they can solve a local murder, using Holmes' methods, they will publish. If not, Sherlock Holmes will be confined to the dustbin of history.

This is a short tale about life in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1800s. It entails the hardships of lonely mountain men and a beautiful red-headed woman with the body of a duck.

The warrior Mithra must repel a Roman legion alone and armed only with one very tasty weapon. The Romans are marching! To protect her lands and her tribe, Mithra comes up with a sticky solution to an impossible problem.

It is 1658 - the dying days of the English Republic under the Cromwells - and a down-on-his-luck publisher, Bartholomew Garnet, gets the chance to publish Paradise Lost by John Milton. But why is the office of censorship so interested in the manuscript? Why is his obliging new housekeeper asking so many questions? And will Garnet discover principles in time to get Paradise Lost published?

In this short story from Nathan Englander's collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, a clerical error lands earnest, unpublished Pinchas Pelovits in prison with 26 other writers.