5 Satires Penned by British Authors
I am an avid fan of satire. I have penned two satirical novels to date and have read numerous satirical works, including these five novels, which were all penned by my fellow countrymen. Click on the links to read my reviews.
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (1930)
Published in 1930, Vile Bodies is a satirical novel whose primary purpose is satirising decadent 1920s London society. The book’s whimsical tone progressively gives way to a bleaker narrative.
My Review: Author Adam plans to marry his fiancé Nina Blount, but he does not have enough money to convince his disinterested, aristocratic beau to tie the knot. Every time Adam feels certain that his financial position is poised to change …(more)
Subjects Satirised: Upper classes
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)
Light-hearted and wryly humorous, this satirical work lampoons the romanticised, often doom-laden ‘loam and lovechild’ novels of the 19th and early 20th century.
My Review: Although harbouring concerns about countryside living, recently orphaned, 19-year-old Flora Poste decides to go and live with relatives in rural Sussex. Her destination, the ramshackle and backward Cold Comfort Farm, is no bucolic utopia …(more)
Subject Satirised:Loam and lovechild novels
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
This dystopian work utilises erudite social commentary and subtle satire to explore mankind’s inherent nature. Huxley’s portentous vision has proven to be prescient.
My Review: Brave New World is set in a society where everything is controlled. The parentless, manufactured, free-loving population are dependent on a state-endorsed hallucinogenic, happiness drug called Soma …(more)
Subjects Satirised: Society, technology & totalitarianism
An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd (1982)
An Ice-Cream War’s motif is the absurdness of war. This unpredictable serio-comedy’s blend of tragedy and black humour appealed to this reader.
My Review: After much tension and speculation, World War I begins. The main campaign is contended on the Western Front, but there is also a less well-known offensive in colonial East Africa, where the British and their native conscripts are pitted against the …(more)
Subjects Satirised: War & English Upper Class
High-Rise by J. G. Ballard (1975)
Set in an apartment tower block in London, High-Rise is a dystopian tale about the intense animosity that develops between the building’s various floors. Its motif is the fragmentation of the social order.
My Review: Set in an apartment tower block in London, High-Rise is a dystopian tale about the intense animosity that develops between the building’s various floors. The story centres around three main characters – Robert Laing, an instructor at a medical school …(more)
Subjects Satirised: Contemporary living arrangements & society at large
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