Fantastic Fables

Bierce's satirical dictionary, with nearly a thousand definitions like Patience: a minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue. Open it on any page: it reads in short bites and its jokes about politics, money and religion still land.

Ambrose Bierce

The first book edition of The Devil's Dictionary, published in 1906 and covering the letters A to L. Compare it with the 1911 version to see how Bierce sharpened his definitions.

Ambrose Bierce

His first book, published in London in 1873 under the pen name Dod Grile. Short sketches, mock news and dark jokes that show his bitter humor was there from the start.

Ambrose Bierce

Satirical fables and tales from 1874, signed as Dod Grile and illustrated with engravings by Dalziel Brothers. Includes the Fables of Zambri, the Parsee, an early sketch of the cruel wit of Fantastic Fables.

Ambrose Bierce

Four short tales of black humor, including My Favorite Murder and Oil of Dog, where the narrators describe horrible family crimes as if they were small talk. Bierce at his most shocking and funniest.

Ambrose Bierce