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The Devil's Dictionary: Satirical Dictionary (Dover Thrift Editions #0)
By Ambrose Bierce. 1993
Born in Ohio in 1842, journalist, short-story writer and critic Ambrose Bierce developed into one of this country's most celebrated…
and cynical wits--a merciless "American Swift" whose literary barbs were aimed at folly, self-delusion, politics, business, religion, literature and the arts. In this splendid "dictionary" of epigrams, essays, verses and vignettes, you'll find over 1,000 pointed definitions, e.g. Congratulation ("The civility of envy"), Coward ("One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs") and Historian ("A broad-gauge gossip"). Anyone who likes to laugh will love The Devil's Dictionary. Anyone looking for a bon mot to enliven their next speech, paper or conversation will have a field day thumbing through what H. L. Mencken called "some of the most gorgeous witticisms in the English language."The Devil's Dictionary: Complete & Unabridged
By Ambrose Bierce. 2011
"Bore: A person who talks when you wish him to listen." "Lawyer: One skilled in circumvention of the law." "Positive:…
Mistaken at the top of one's voice." These and more than 1,000 other comic definitions appear in Ambrose Bierce's wicked satire of conventional dictionaries. An ideal gift for lovers of language, this classic of American humor features a wealth of quips praised by H. L. Mencken as "some of the most gorgeous witticisms in the English language."The Devil's Dictionary
By Ambrose Bierce.
The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical dictionary written by American journalist and author Ambrose Bierce. Originally published in 1906 as…
The Cynic's Word Book, it features Bierce's witty and often ironic spin on many common English words. Retitled in 1911, it has been followed by numerous "unabridged" versions compiled after Bierce's death, which include definitions absent from earlier editions.Todas las palabras que no me han dicho
By Veronique Poulain. 2017
Fresca, intimista e infinitamente cómica, Todas las palabras que no me han dicho es la nueva novela revelación en Francia,…
donde ha vendido más de 50.000 ejemplares. Ser adolescente no es nada fácil, y menos aún si, como Véronique, se vive con un padre y una madre un tanto especiales, que no puede comunicarse como el resto del mundo. Fuera de las paredes de su casa, la gente cuenta historias, se enfada, ríe y ama. Los padres de Véronique también hacen todo esto, pero con las manos: son sordomudos. Las pequeñas anécdotas e historias familiares son tan irreverentes como reflexivas, tan sencillas como profundas, tan singulares como cercanas a nuestras experiencias. De lo que podría haber sido un drama, Véronique Poulain hace una comedia: un libro único sobre una familia que también lo es. La crítica ha dicho...«Una pequeña joya.»Femme Actuelle «Divertido, cruel y conmovedor.»OuestFrance «Una magnífica declaración de amor filial.»LibérationThe Skin of Our Teeth: A Play (Perennial Classics)
By Thornton Wilder. 2003
A timeless statement about human foibles...and human endurance, The Skin of Our Teeth is Thornton Wilder’s brilliant, Pulitzer Prize-winning play,…
now reissued with a beautiful new cover and updated afterword by Wilder’s nephew, Tappan Wilder. Time magazine called The Skin of Our Teeth "a sort of Hellzapoppin' with brains," as it broke from established theatrical conventions and walked off with the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama. Combining farce, burlesque, and satire (among other styles), Thornton Wilder departs from his studied use of nostalgia and sentiment in Our Town to have an Eternal Family narrowly escape one disaster after another, from ancient times to the present. Meet George and Maggie Antrobus (married only 5,000 years); their two children, Gladys and Henry (perfect in every way!); and their maid, Sabina (the ageless vamp) as they overcome ice, flood, and war—by the skin of their teeth. Witty, clever, and provocative, The Skin of Our Teeth showcases Wilder’s storytelling genius and his extraordinary talents at delving deep into the human psyche.Shooting Martha
By David Thewlis. 2021
'A riotously good novel, witty and earnest, brimming with sharply drawn characters and creeping suspense. David Thewlis is a fabulous…
writer' Anna Bailey, Sunday Times bestselling author of Tall BonesCelebrated director Jack Drake can't get through his latest film (his most personal yet) without his wife Martha's support. The only problem is, she's dead...When Jack sees Betty Dean - actress, mother, trainwreck - playing the part of a crazed nun on stage in an indie production of The Devils, he is struck dumb by her resemblance to Martha. Desperate to find a way to complete his masterpiece, he hires her to go and stay in his house in France and resuscitate Martha in the role of 'loving spouse'.But as Betty spends her days roaming the large, sunlit rooms of Jack's mansion - filled to the brim with odd treasures and the occasional crucifix - and her evenings playing the part of Martha over scripted video calls with Jack, she finds her method acting taking her to increasingly dark places. And as Martha comes back to life, she carries with her the truth about her suicide - and the secret she guarded until the end.A darkly funny novel set between a London film set and a villa in the south of France.A mix of Vertigo and Jonathan Coe, written by a master storyteller.PRAISE FOR DAVID THEWLIS'S FICTION 'David Thewlis has written an extraordinarily good novel, which is not only brilliant in its own right, but stands proudly beside his work as an actor, no mean boast' Billy Connolly'Hilarious and horror-filled' Francesca Segal, Observer'A fine study in character disintegration... Very funny' David Baddiel, The Times'Exquisitely written with a warm heart and a wry wit... Stunning' Elle'Queasily entertaining' Financial Times'A sharp ear for dialogue and a scabrously satiric prose style' Daily Mail'Laugh-out-loud, darkly intelligent' Publishers Weekly'This is far more than an actor's vanity project: Thewlis has talent' KirkusEnemy of the People: A Play In Five Acts
By Henrik Ibsen. 2009
Environmentalist, activist, and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. contributes a foreword to this Skyhorse edition of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen&’s…
renowned 1882 play. Regarded as one of the foremost playwrights of the nineteenth century, Henrik Ibsen tells the story of the idealist Doctor Thomas Stockmann, the medical officer of a recently opened spa in a small town in southern Norway, who finds that the water is seriously contaminated. He notifies members of the community and initially receives support and thanks for the discovery. Threatened by the possible impact of such a revelation, his brother, the town mayor, conspires with local politicians and the newspaper to suppress the story and pressure Dr. Stockmann to retract his statements. At a public meeting, an attempt is made to keep Dr. Stockmann from speaking, but he launches into a tirade condemning the corruption of the town and the tyranny of the majority. Finding his speech offensive, he is shouted down by the masses and reviled as "an enemy of the people." In his foreword, Kennedy alerts readers to the undeniable fact that the persecution of those who tell uncomfortable truths, which Ibsen described over one hundred years ago, continues to this day and is as relevant now as ever. We face environmental deregulation and degradation, politicians in lobbyists&’ pockets, attacks on facts that are agreed upon by reputable scientists, corporate funded and controlled research, and attempts to impede and suppress whistleblowers. The battle continues and Kennedy joins Ibsen on the front lines.Dial L for Latch-Key: The Radio Play
By Scott Fivelson. 2010
She tried to dial M for murder, but instead she accidentally dialed L for latch-key... A plotting husband who strongly…
resembles Ray Milland... A framed wife as elegant as Grace Kelly... An Inspector straight out of Monty Python... Hitchcock would be spinning in his grave if he weren't suiting up for his cameo.Suspenseful, witty, and romantic, this one-act play is a lively satire of the films of Alfred Hitchcock.Diary of a Madman, The Government Inspector, & Selected Stories
By Nikolay Gogol. 2005
Author, dramatist and satirist, Nikolay Gogol (1809-1852) deeply influenced later Russian literature with his powerful depictions of a society dominated…
by petty beaurocracy and base corruption. This volume includes both his most admired short fiction and his most famous drama. A biting and frequently hilarious political satire, The Government Inspector has been popular since its first performance and was regarded by Nabokov as the greatest Russian play every written. The stories gathered here, meanwhile, range from comic to tragic and describe the isolated lives of low-ranking clerks, lunatics and swindlers. They include Diary of a Madman, an amusing but disturbing exploration of insanity; Nevsky Prospect, a depiction of an artist besotted with a prostitute; and The Overcoat, a moving consideration of poverty that powerfully influenced Dostoevsky and later Russian literature.