Penguin Island
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Penguin Island is Anatole France’s most searching and satirical novel. A humorous critique of customs and laws, rituals and rites, its subject is human nature, but its characters are penguins in the mythical land of Penguinia. The story of the strutting penguins and their virtues and vices is not merely a burlesque allegory of French history, but a satire of the history of mankind. With gentle yet biting irony, France challenges the Spencerian belief in the ultimate perfectibility of man, though his irony reveals his sympathy for man’s weaknesses and his need for social institutions.
First published in 1908, Penguin Island is widely regarded as Anatole France’s masterpiece.
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Anatole France (1844–1924), the nom de plume of Anatole-Francois Thibault, began his literary career working for a publisher and writing weekly articles for the Univers Illustré. His first book of poems, Les poèms dorés, was published in 1875, and his first successful novel, Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, appeared in 1881 and won a prize from the French Academy. The most prominent French man of letters of his time, he was elected to the French Academy in 1896, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1921 for “the most remarkable literary work of idealistic stamp.”
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.
