Historical Humor

In 1902, a radical vegetarian and nudist from Nuremberg named August Engelhardt set sail for what was then called the Bismarck Archipelago. His destination: the island Kabakon. His goal: to found a colony based on worship of the sun and coconuts. His malnourished body was found on the beach on Kabakon in 1919; he was 43 years old. Christian Kracht's Imperium uses the outlandish details of Engelhardt's life to craft a fable about the allure of extremism and its fundamental foolishness.

From a smelly watering hole deep in the heart of the Serengeti to the ferocious clamor of the Colosseum, join Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends as they gear up to be...GLADIATORS! Only if they win the love of the Roman crowds will they win back their freedom. But do Julius and his pals have what it takes to succeed in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive?

Many have marvelled at General Napier's daring 1868 expedition through the treacherous peaks and bottomless chasms of Abyssinia to rescue a small group of British citizens held captive by the mad tyrant Emperor Theodore. But the vital role of Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., in the success of this campaign has hitherto gone unrecorded.

Written in a hospital tent to the sound of gunfire and shells falling, Cicely Hamilton drew on her experiences working in France during WW1 to tell the story of William Tully and his new bride Griselda, who are wrenched away from their all-consuming interests – socialism and votes for women – and plunged into the almost dream-like horror of war. As brutal tragedy strikes, their attitude to both pacifism and patriotism is altered and their lives are changed forever.

This humorous and factual history of five lads who grew up to become Founding Fathers brings the early days of American history to life with sass and substance, in Lane Smith's inimitable style.

There is very little that Lizzie Patterson wouldn’t do for those she cares about. That is especially true for her two neighbors in the quiet corner of the canyon that’s been her home for over fifty years and her refuge since she retired from the profession she loved but was more than ready to walk away from. Recently she’s accepted a role in a movie her first husband is producing after years of turning down all the other offers that came her way since her retirement. Many believe that her reason for doing so is because Clay Tobin has agreed to play the lead character in the same movie...

Resourceful Bingo Riggs and his partner, Handsome Kusak, are in the sucker-bait business, snapping candid pics of tourists off Central Park. Their fly-by-night enterprise can be irresistible to souvenir lovers, but with one camera in a pawnshop and their developing room in the bathtub of a two-room dump near Hell’s Kitchen, their venture is wretchedly underexposed - until they stumble upon an insurance fraud scheme between the allegedly dead eccentric Mr. S. S. Pigeon and his business partner and beneficiary.

In a world where creativity is outlawed, dustpan maker Eddie Sweep discovers a time-traveling dustpan named Dustin. Joined by historical allies, Eddie embarks on a hilarious journey through history to collect artifacts that could overthrow the oppressive Conformity Council. From ancient China to the Fall of Rome, Eddie faces challenges that transform him from a timid factory worker to an unlikely hero. With wit, heart, and temporal hijinks, “Dustin Time” proves that sometimes, the most powerful tool for changing the world is a mop and a dustpan with attitude! Will Eddie save the future ...

The accidental governess...After her livelihood slips through her fingers, Alexandra Mountbatten takes on an impossible post: transforming a pair of wild orphans into proper young ladies. However, the girls don’t need discipline. They need a loving home. Try telling that to their guardian, Chase Reynaud. The ladies of London have tried - and failed - to make him settle down. Somehow, Alexandra must reach his heart...without risking her own.

Undaunted by a threatening storm, Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley insists he must deliver his letter to Miss Elizabeth Bennet - then tragedy strikes. Riddled with guilt, Elizabeth comes to the aid of the comatose Mr. Darcy and stays by his side until he regains consciousness. She soon learns that although Mr. Darcy has awoken, he has not returned to himself. And with no memory of his first disastrous proposal, he has concluded that there is nothing he wants more than to propose to Miss Elizabeth.

Gwen, the quick-witted Princess of England, and Arthur, future lord and general gadabout, have been betrothed since birth. Unfortunately, the only thing they can agree on is that they hate each other. When Gwen catches Art kissing a boy and Art discovers where Gwen hides her diary (complete with racy entries about Bridget Leclair, the kingdom's only female knight), they become reluctant allies. By pretending to fall for each other, their mutual protection will be assured.

Having fled Japanese-occupied Korea for the gleaming promise of the United States with nothing but four dollars and a suitcase full of Shakespeare to his name, the young, idealistic Chungpa Han arrives in a New York teeming with expatriates, businessmen, students, scholars, and indigents. Struggling to support his studies, he becomes a traveling salesman, a domestic worker, and a farmer, and observing along the way the idealism, greed, and shifting values of the industrializing 20th century. East Goes West casts a sharply satirical eye on the demands and perils of assimilation.

It's 1964. Eleven-year-old Fin and his glamorous, worldly, older half sister, Lady, have just been orphaned, and Lady, whom Fin hasn't seen in six years, is now his legal guardian and his only hope. That means Fin is uprooted from a small dairy farm in rural Connecticut to Greenwich Village, smack in the middle of the swinging '60s. He soon learns that Lady-giddy, careless, urgent, and obsessed with being free-is as much his responsibility as he is hers.

Richard Milhous Nixon lived one of the most improbable lives of the 20th century. He faced down the Russians, the Chinese, and, ultimately, his own government. The man went from political mastermind to a national joke, sobbing in the Oval Office, leaving us with one burning question: How could he have lost it all? Here, for the first time, is the tale told in his own words: the terrifying supernatural secret he stumbled upon as a young man, the truth behind the Cold War, and the truth behind the Watergate cover-up.

Robin "Puck" Blackthorn is young, rich, handsome as sin, and delights in the life he lives. A single stolen kiss at a masquerade ball should be nothing more than a lark, but that explosive embrace has unexpected consequences when he is suddenly thrust into helping a beautiful damsel in distress. Regina Hackett hadn't wanted to attend the masquerade with her cousin. When that cousin disappears, she turns to Puck for help, only to realize they've stumbled onto a dark and dangerous secret that threatens not only her cousin, but Regina's entire world. As the two embark on a dangerous journey ...

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.

A delightful, sophisticated, romantic bestseller... back in print for the first time in over 90 years! "Lighter than air, and as bouyant and breezy as the wind. It's the icing on the cake, the silver lining on the cloud, the gilding on the lily. And if the whole world soon isn't 'Green' with envy, we don't know a bestseller when we read one." Pittsburgh Press Catherine Douglas is a traditional, American Southerner living with her widowed father and brother in Paris in the 1930s. Her life is complicated by her charming father's affairs, the hopeless literary aspirations of her lovable ...

Sleepy Brat With Her Dearest Friend & A Stranger~ Abigail: A Sleep Sex With Permission Short An evening tryst leads to so much more... Abigail wants one thing, and confides in her best friend Jason. Now Jason sets out to give her what she so desires... She longs for this to happen yet again, but Jason has other ideas and invites another gentleman along, a stranger, a hired hand from the nearby farm... and things take a turn towards a full on menage! A Victorian friends with benefits story. Apprx. 5000 words.

A Kasey Michaels Alphabet Regency Romance. Everyone has read the plot involving a beautiful young runaway debutante masquerading as boy. But in A Difficult Disguise, Rosalie Darley, taking the name Billy, does her hiding in plain sight, working in the stables at the estate of her unknowing guardian, Fletcher Belden. Ah, but is Fletcher really that blind, or is he playing a game of his own? Kasey Michaels Alphabet Regency Romance Titles: The Belligerent Miss Boynton The Tenacious Miss Tamerlane The Rambunctious Lady Royston The Lurid Lady Lockport The Savage Miss Saxon The Questioning Miss ...

In Bournville, a placid suburb of Birmingham, sits a famous chocolate factory. For eleven-year-old Mary and her family in 1945, it's the centre of the world. The reason their streets smell faintly of chocolate, the place where most of their friends and neighbours have worked for decades. Mary will go on to live through the Coronation and the World Cup final, royal weddings and royal funerals, Brexit and Covid-19. She'll have children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.