Historical Humor

Uptight elfin historian Brangwain Spurge is on a mission: survive being catapulted across the mountains into goblin territory, deliver a priceless peace offering to their mysterious dark lord, and spy on the goblin kingdom - from which no elf has returned alive in more than 100 years. Brangwain's host, the goblin archivist Werfel, is delighted to show Brangwain around. They should be the best of friends, but a series of extraordinary double crosses, blunders, and cultural misunderstandings throws these two bumbling scholars into the middle of an international crisis.

Two centuries after his death, Alexander Hamilton is shining once more under America's spotlight - and we need him now more than ever. Orphaned as a kid, this young, scrappy, and hungry self-starter came from nothing and then helped win the Revolutionary War, created the country's financial system, seduced New York's most eligible ladies, ratified the Constitution, and landed his face on our $10 bill. (In his spare time he also formed the Coast Guard and the US Mint.) He is the ultimate underdog.

From the original Greek financial crisis (when the profligate Gods of Olympus were punished by Odin and the other Norse Gods for their unchecked spending) to a handy unintended benefit of cosmetic surgery; from Pope Ron (the first Australian pope, who wants nothing more than to live quietly) to a rather droll cat named Stanley to Good President Wenceslas (benevolent leader of a snowy land) - these stories are by turns funny, poignant, and deliciously wicked, each one a gift begging to be unwrapped and enjoyed again and again.

This novel is a virtual time machine that takes the reader back to 11th century England - the time of Saxon domination before and after the disastrous Battle of Hastings in 1066. Step directly into the footsteps of Cuthwin of Alnwick. There are few “great men or women” in this historical novel, but instead the story of an ordinary man and his wife who work to survive.

In 1934, a rabbi's son in Prague joins a traveling circus, becomes a magician, and rises to fame under the stage name the Great Zabbatini just as Europe descends into World War II. When Zabbatini is discovered to be a Jew, his battered trunk full of magic tricks becomes his only hope of surviving the concentration camp where he is sent. Seven decades later in Los Angeles, 10-year-old Max finds a scratched-up LP that captured Zabbatini performing his greatest tricks.

Diary of Liz Truss: Prime Minister Extraordinaire is a satirical and humorous dive into the whirlwind 44-day tenure of one of Britain's most short-lived and controversial Prime Ministers. Written as a mock diary, it offers a tongue-in-cheek perspective on Liz Truss's "bold" decisions, chaotic policies, and her unique interpretation of leadership.

En esta fascinante novela, los enredos y las equivocaciones determinan el destino de la lucha por la Independencia de México. Con el implacable humor que inmortalizó a Jorge Ibargüengoitia, Los pasos de López cuenta el cauce cotidiano de una gesta insurgente protagonizada por personajes de carne y hueso, con dudas y vanidades, caprichos y torpezas. Una inigualable muestra del talento de un autor que se ha vuelto indispensable para la literatura hispanoamericana.

Após uma década de trabalho mediana, Rick Dalton acha difícil engolir a ideia de que a indústria cinematográfica passa muito bem sem ele, obrigado. Sentindo que sua carreira de ator está cada vez mais próxima do fim e mergulhado em uma crise existencial, Rick está disposto a se submeter ao lobby cruel de Hollywood para tentar adiar sua ruína. Para isso, vai cogitar uma investida no cinema italiano, encarnar um vilão controverso em uma série de faroeste e aceitar conselhos profissionais de uma respeitada atriz de oito anos de idade.

En esta ocasión, la improbable heroína tiene su origen en el barrio de Soweto, el tristemente célebre gueto de Johannesburgo. Corren los años setenta, en pleno auge del apartheid, cuando Nombeko Mayeki, condenada a una vida de infortunio y con altas probabilidades de que ésta acabe a una edad temprana ante la indiferencia de sus semejantes, encuentra un resquicio para escapar de su aciago futuro.

From the author of My Cousin Vinny comes a tale worthy of The Princess Bride. There has never been a greater storytelling classic than The Princess Bride. To this day, the tale of Buttercup and Westley still resonates with fans young and old. The Treasure is a saga evocative of Goldman's masterpiece, a story within a story, a fantasy wrapped in a mystery that will have you laughing out loud.

It's 2006 in the fictional East London borough of Leytonstow. The UK’s pub smoking ban is about to happen, and 38-and-a-half year old John Torrington, a mopper and trolley collector at his local DIY store, is secretly in love with the stylish, beautiful, and middle-class barmaid Lois. John and his hapless, strange, and down-on-their-luck friends, Gabby Longfeather and Glyn Hopkins, live in Clements Markham House - a semi-derelict Edwardian villa divided into unsanitary bedsits, and (mis)managed by the shrewd, Dickensian business man, Mr Kapoor.

Leaving behind the rural charms of Finnshire, Miss Penelope Fairweather arrives in London with hope in her heart and a dream in her eye. The dowager, no less, has invited her for a season in London, where she will attempt to catch a husband. Thus begins our heroine’s tale as she attempts to tackle the London season with all her rustic finesse. Unfortunately her rustic finesse turns out to be as delicate as a fat bear trying to rip apart a honeycomb infested with buzzing bees.

Iseult Wince is a Victorian woman perilously close to spinsterhood whose distinctly unpleasant father is trying to marry her off. She is awkward, plain, and most pertinently, believes that her mother, who died in childbirth, lives in the scar on her neck. Iseult’s father parades a host of unsuitable candidates before her, the majority of whom Iseult wastes no time frightening away. When at last her father finds a suitor desperate enough to take Iseult off his hands - a man whose medical treatments have turned his skin silver - a true comedy of errors ensues.

Everyone’s heard of Nostradamus. No one’s heard of Philibert Montmorency. One was a legend. The other, not so much.... A newly discovered Nostradamus prophecy has taken the internet by storm thanks to "The Oblivion Doctrine", a group of online conspiracy theorists. Apparently the end is nigh. And in case anyone’s interested, nigh is definitely a Tuesday. Doctor Ally Oldfield, professor of Medieval Languages, is summoned to Lyon for a second opinion. She’s not happy about it. But then again she’s rarely happy about anything.

There have always been Mountain Men. Their names are legendary. Their motives unknown. Until now. Over four centuries, one by one, they changed the course of human history. Occasionally, some of them were even quite good at it. Like most things in life, successful revolutions take a bit of practise. Only they knew their identity and purpose, but someone has discovered their secrets. Now the actions of the Mountain Men are being re-enacted in the 21st century and there’s twelve billion dollars up for grabs for anyone willing to help.

Acompañada de tres hombres, una mujer llega a un pueblo en busca del panadero para cobrar venganza. Cuando lo encuentra, lo balacea y le prende fuego al lugar. Las investigaciones del crimen revelarán los oscuros secretos de las conocidas hermanas Baladro, dueñas de cantinas y prostíbulos. Estafas, trata de mujeres, entierros clandestinos y asesinatos conforman el siniestro reino que las dos mujeres, Serafina y Arcángela, han construido a su alrededor.

At the turn of the 20th century, as he composes a treatise on melancholy, Jacov Reinhardt sets off from his small Croatian village in search of his hero and unwitting mentor, Emiliano Gomez Carrasquilla, who is rumored to have disappeared into the South American jungle - "not lost, mind you, but retired." Jacov's narcissistic preoccupation with melancholy consumes him, and as he desperately recounts the myth of his journey to his trusted but ailing scribe, hope for an encounter with the lost philosopher who holds the key to Jacov's obsession seems increasingly unlikely.

George Sperryhawke, the bombastic rogue and forgotten founding father, chronicles life in 18th-century America as he clambers and swindles his way up the social ladder. After running away from home and being expelled from the seminary, Sperryhawke went to sea and would go on to become one of the wealthiest men in the colonies by the age of 25, and a pivotal figure in the founding of the Republic. A thoroughly unreliable and mostly unlikable figure, the discovery of the Sperryhawke manuscripts has given students of American history great cause for rejoicing.

When a leftwing activist from the Nixon era morphs into a conservative writer of political incorrectness, can she ever escape the evil eye of the establishment? Political winds may shift but some things never change. If you pull on the dragon's tail, you'd best be ready to take some heat. Kate is no stranger to a jail cell, but she thought she got past that four decades ago. Then again, in a world run amuck with knife brandishing jihadists spilling from their sharia zones, maybe a jail cell is the safest place to be.

1870s, Sicily. Much to the displeasure of Vigàta's stubborn populace, the town has just been unified under the Kingdom of Italy. They're now in the hands of a new government they don't understand and definitely don't like. Eugenio Bortuzzi has been named prefect for Vigàta, a regional representative from the Italian government to oversee the town. But the rowdy and unruly Sicilians don't care much for this rather pompous mainlander nor the mediocre opera he's hell-bent on producing in their new municipal theater.