Hone, William, 1780–1842, English writer and bookseller. He was tried and acquitted three times in 1817 for publishing parodies on the church and the government. Besides writing political sati...

Aytoun, William Edmonstoune, 1813–65, Scottish poet. He was (1845–64) professor of belles-lettres at Edinburgh Univ. The Bon Gaultier Ballads (written with Sir Theodore Martin, 1845) parodied ...

Calverley, Charles Stuart, 1831–84, English poet and translator. Expelled from Oxford for a youthful prank, he earned academic honors at Cambridge. He became famous for the wit and erudition o...

Lillie, Beatrice (Lady Peel), 1898–1989, British comedienne, b. Toronto, Ont. as Constance Munston. Lillie first performed in London in 1914 and in New York in 1924. She won an international r...

Meyrink, Gustav, 1868–1932, German author, b. Vienna. His original name was Gustav Meyer. A staff member of Simplicissimus from 1902, he became famous for his sketches, parodies, and comedies....

Philips, John, 1676–1709, English poet. He was one of the few to write in blank verse in an age when the heroic couplet was the standard form. His Splendid Shilling (1701, 1705) is a parody of...

Maginn, William, 1793–1842, Irish writer. Some of his best stories and essays appeared in Blackwood's Magazine. His short story Bob Burke's Duel with Ensign Brady is considered one of the most...

Frere, John Hookham, 1769–1846, British writer and diplomat. He was a member of Parliament (1796–1802) and with his friend George Canning wrote effective parodies and satires for the political...

Barham, Richard Harris, pseud. Thomas Ingoldsby, 1788–1845, English humorist, grad. Oxford. Ordained a minister in 1813, he became a minor canon of the Chapel Royal in 1824. In 1837 he began i...

Fools, Feast of, burlesque religious festival of the Middle Ages. It occurred during the Christmas and New Year's revels, on or near New Year's Day. In many places a Lord of Misrule ruled over...