Works – Parody / Spoof / Satire

1803, Gillray, J. , French Invasion or Buonaparte Landing in Great Britain

Satirical prints by James Gillray It is worth remembering that while this site concentrates on invasion scare stories of the Victorian and Edwardian era there is a long history of invasion fears represented in literature and art. Of particular interest are the satirical prints dating from the late 18C and early 19C, especially those of James Gillray.From the outbreak of war with France in the same year, fear abounded that the French would invade England or Ireland. Gillray produced prints in which he imagined the horrors of a successful French invasion, with the streets of London literally running with blood, ...

1871, Anonymous , Punch – The Battle of Dorking

Anonymous (1871) The Battle of Dorking - Punch 20th May 1871 ...

1871, Sketchley, A. [Rose, G.] , Mrs Brown on the Battle of Dorking

Arthur Sketchley [George Rose] (1871) Mrs Brown on the Battle of Dorking ...

1906, Oldmeadow, E. , The North Sea Bubble: A Fantasia 

Ernest Oldmeadow (1906) The North Sea Bubble: A Fantasia A post "Battle of Dorking" spoof. Ernest Oldmeadow's earlier North Sea Bubble (1906) also imagined the Germans wooing their new vassals with universal Christmas gifts and subsidised food. Indeed, the worst atrocities inflicted by the occupiers in Oldmeadow's German Britain are the introduction of a diet of sausages and sauerkraut, the correct spelling of Handel's name in concert programmes and Home Rule for Ireland.[Niall Ferguson (1999) Pity of War] Up to 1906 these writers had told their stories as they had happened: then Ernest Oldmeadow changed the point of view in ...

1908, Anonymous – Punch , Essence of Parliament 

Anonymous (1908) Essence of Parliament - Punch, July 15, 1908 A satirical sketch of Parliamentary proceedings. Available online at: https://archive.org/stream/punchvol134a135lemouoft#page/n561/mode/2up ...

1909, Anonymous – Punch – The Invaders 

Anonymous - Punch (1909) The Invaders - Punch, 17th March 1909 Another satirical piece in Punch satirising the stories of Le Queux and others. Available online at: https://archive.org/stream/punchvol136a137lemouoft#page/n228/mode/1up ...

1909, Hawke, N. , The Invasion That Did Not Come Off 

Napier Hawke (1909) The Invasion That Did Not Come Off The Invasion That Did Not Come Off by an author named Napier Hawke, satirizes the very conventions to which it both adheres and contributes. Hawke sends up the army, navy, government, and press; representative characters are distinguished only by their stupidity, corruption, and contentiousness. This parodied cross-section of participants in the invasion debate is captured by the Germans and sees the preparations for invasion first-hand.  [Joseph Michael (1990) The Germans are Coming!] Published in 1909, "The invasion that did not come off" is one of the more lurid works of ...

1909, Milne A.A. , The Secret of the Army Aeroplane 

A. A. Milne (1909) The Secret of the Army Aeroplane - Punch 26th May 1909 Note: the year is misquoted by I.F. Clarke and copied by later writers as 1908. THE SECRET OF THE ARMY AEROPLANE. (Mr. WILLIAM LE QUEUX wishes to deny indignantly that the following tale was written by him. On the contrary, he identifies himself completely with the proprietor of The Daily Mail in deprecating the publication of scare stories. As the proprietor of The Daily Mail truly says, such stories " place England and Englishmen in a ridiculous and humiliating light before the German people." At ...

1909, Wodehouse, P. G. ,  The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England 

The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England, by P. G. Wodehouse A comic short novel satirizing the genre of invasion literature. The Swoop!, or How Clarence Saved England is a short comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom by Alston Rivers Ltd, London, on April 16, 1909. Its subtitle is A Tale of the Great Invasion. An adapted and much abbreviated version, set in the United States, appeared in the July and August 1915 issues of Vanity Fair under the title The Military Invasion of America and with the subtitle A Remarkable Tale of the ...

1910, Anonymous, Punch – Strength at the Helm 

Anonymous (1910) Strength at the Helm - Punch 7th December 1910. A satirical article on German Spies. Available online at: https://archive.org/stream/punchvol138a139lemouoft#page/902/mode/2up ...

1910, Robinson, H. , Cartoons 

Heath Robinson (1910) Cartoons, The Sketch These cartoons by Heath Robinson ridiculing the spy mania appeared during 1910 in The Sketch ...