"Der Pfaffenspiegel" by Otto von Corvin is an anticlerical book published in 1845. Written by a Prussian freethinker, this fiercely polemical work attacks the Catholic Church through alleged historical accounts of religious fanaticism, clerical misconduct, and institutional corruption. From medieval saints to papal authority, Corvin's provocative compilation sparked fierce controversy and achieved massive circulation—1.6 million copies by 1860. Later exploited by the Nazis for anti-Catholic propaganda, the book remains historically dismissed by scholars as superficial yet reveals the intensity of 19th-century religious-political conflicts. (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.
