Jack Worthington is an upstanding gentleman in Victorian society. He just has one secret-he tells everyone that he has a brother named Earnest, when, in reality, Earnest is his alter ego. This allows him a certain duality; he can go out and party as Earnest, but have a sterling reputation as Jack. However, he must merge the two when Jack discovers that his lover, Gwendolyn, will only marry a man named Earnest. Meanwhile, Algernon, a family friend,...

The Frogs follows interpersonal conflicts between men and women, Greek gods, and the natural and supernatural. Using extraordinary circumstances, the author provides commentary on multiple public figures spanning religion, politics and literature. The Frogs is one of Aristophanes' most notable works. The story centers on Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine, who's also known as a patron of the arts. In an effort to restore Greek tragedy to its...

"No one steps up to life's banquet, holds out her tray, and orders, "Grief, please!" Yet as a child, Candy Pekkala was served a heaping helping of it. But every buffet line has a dessert section, and when a cousin calls with a Hollywood apartment to sublet, it seems though Candy is finally offered something sweet. It's good-bye to Minnesota and hello to California, where a girl who has always lived by her wits has a real chance of making a living...

From City Lights to Knocked Up, this history examines American film from the perspective of its unwanted stepbrother, the comedy, and puts the comic titans of the present in the context of their predecessors. The 30 chapters and 100 essays follow the connections that link Mae West to Marilyn Monroe and W. C. Fields to Will Ferrell. Offering unvarnished insight into comedians and directors such as Buster Keaton, Christopher Guest,

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George Orwell's famous satire of the Soviet Union, in which "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." A satire on totalitarianism in which farm animals overthrow their human owner and set up their own government.

Edward Baltram is overwhelmed with guilt. His nasty little prank has gone horribly wrong: He fed his closest friend a sandwich laced with a hallucinogenic drug, and the young man fell out of a window to his death. Edward's guilt and depression are worsened by daily letters from the young man's mother cursing Edward as a murderer. Tortured, Edward searches for redemption through a reunion with his famous father, the reclusive painter Jesse Baltram....

Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly anti-authoritarian point of view. Censorship battles, mind-blowing musical performances, and unforgettable sketches defined the show and its era. In this compelling history, the author draws on decades worth of original research, including interviews with Tom and Dick Smothers and other key players,...