Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Collected Fiction Volume 3 : Tall Tales and Satirical Sketches; Political Fantasies and Future Histories, Paperback / softback Book

Collected Fiction Volume 3 : Tall Tales and Satirical Sketches; Political Fantasies and Future Histories Paperback / softback

Edited by S T Joshi

Paperback / softback

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks

Description

Ambrose Bierce's satirical flair is most prevalent in his tall tales and similar sketches, where all manner of human foibles are lampooned: the excesses of the press; the corruption endemic in business; the absurdities of class distinctions; and so on. Several tales depict buffooneries on the open sea ("The Jeannette and the Corwin," "The History of Windbag the Sailor"), while others expose the crudities of life in the American West ("A Mirage in Arizona").

 

A distinctive facet of Bierce's work is a series of political fantasies, several of them taking place in the future, where his skewering of social and political institutions-the dominance of "trusts" or monopolies; the evils of insurance; and the very principle of democracy-are pungently satirized.

 

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) was the leading American writer of weird fiction between Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. Having served in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, Bierce settled in San Francisco, where he became a fearless journalist and satirist, attacking corrupt politicians, long-winded clerics, wretched poetasters, and others who incurred his wrath. The stories in this volume are presented in definitive texts based on a consultation of manuscripts and early publications. They are edited by S. T. Joshi, a leading authority on Bierce and weird fiction.

Information

£20.00

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information