Penguin Island

Anatole France · 1844–1924 · France

Originally L'Île des Pingouins (French)

Why it matters

A near-sighted missionary baptizes a colony of penguins by mistake, and France retells the whole of French history with the birds standing in for the nation. A mock-epic satire of nationalism, church, and state.

At a glance

Mock-chronicle form requires knowledge of the French history it parodies.