"Penguin Island" by Anatole France is a satirical novel published in 1908. When a nearly blind monk mistakes great auks for humans and baptizes them, Heaven must resolve the dilemma by transforming the birds into people. What follows is a sweeping fictional history of Penguinia that mirrors France and Western Europe, spanning from the Dark Ages through modernity and beyond. France lampoons the Dreyfus affair, the origins of religion, property, and law, and human nature itself in this biting commentary on civilization's follies. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.
