The Greatest Books of All Time on Comedy

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
203 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole 1980 American English
538 Zazie in the Metro Raymond Queneau 1959 French French
902 Under the Net Iris Murdoch 1954 British English
932 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
1111 Get Shorty Elmore Leonard 1990 American English
1161 The Twelve Chairs Ilya Ilf, Evgeniy Petrov 1928 Russian Russian
1221 Thank You, Jeeves P. G. Wodehouse 1934 British English
1233 The History Of Gil Blas Of Santillana Alain-René Lesage 1715 French French
1340 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1383 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
2438 Puckoon Spike Milligan 1963 Irish English
2543 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Winifred Watson 1938 British English
2696 Wise Children Angela Carter 1991 British English
2850 A Bullet In The Ballet Caryl Brahms &S. J. Simon 1937 British English
2878 The Comedy Of Errors William Shakespeare 1594 British English
3181 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
4226 The Frogs Aristophanes -405 Greek Ancient greek
4230 The Wasps Aristophanes -422 Greek Ancient greek
4309 No Bed For Bacon Caryl Brahms, S. J. Simon 1941 British English
4309 Charade John Mortimer 1947 British English
4681 A Horse Walks Into A Bar David Grossman 2014 Israeli Hebrew
4784 Amphitryon Plautus -184 Roman Latin
5815 The Russian Debutante’s Handbook Gary Shteyngart 2002 American English
5831 Pseudolus Plautus -191 Roman Latin
5834 The Braggart Soldier Plautus -204 Roman Latin
5848 Love For Love William Congreve 1695 British English
5853 The Servant Of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni 1746 Italian Italian
6377 Jumpers Tom Stoppard 1972 British English
6529 Born A Crime Trevor Noah 2016 South African English
6821 The Pat Hobby Stories F. Scott Fitzgerald 1962 American English
6992 A Light Comedy Eduardo Mendoza 1996 Spanish Spanish
7215 The Precious Ridiculous Molière 1659 French French
7724 Stupidity Rafael Spregelburd 2007 Argentinian Spanish
8096 The Hotel New Hampshire John Irving 1981 American English
8247 Always Unreliable Clive James 2001 British English
8402 Wyrd Sisters Terry Pratchett 1988 British English
8425 To Say Nothing of the Dog Connie Willis 1997 American English
8958 A Frolic of His Own William Gaddis 1994 American English
9047 The Romantic Comedians Ellen Glasgow 1926 American English
10539 I Am Not Sidney Poitier Percival Everett 2009 American English
11206 Based On A True Story Norm Macdonald 2016 Canadian English
12312 Yes Please Amy Poehler 2014 American English
14051 The Rosie Effect Graeme Simsion 2014 Australian English
14191 Private Lives Noel Coward 1930 British English
14232 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
14329 The Admirable Crichton J. M. Barrie 1902 British English
14696 The Brothers Menaechmus Plautus -184 Roman Latin
14730 Believe Me Eddie Izzard 2017 British English
14855 Anatomy Of Criticism Northrop Frye 1957 Canadian English
14983 Injury Time Beryl Bainbridge 1977 British English
14983 Bossypants Tina Fey 2011 American English
15633 Merton Of The Movies Harry Leon Wilson 1922 American English
15733 A Mad World, My Masters Thomas Middleton 1605 British English
16504 An Italian Straw Hat Eugène Labiche 1851 French French
16590 Le Dindon Georges Feydeau 1896 French French
16528 Notes On A Cowardly Lion John Lahr 1969 American English
16648 Present Laughter Noel Coward 1942 British English
17117 And Away… Bob Mortimer 2021 British English
17117 This Much Is True Miriam Margolyes 2021 British English
17117 Tall Tales And Wee Stories Bill Connolly 2019 Scottish English
17117 One Man, Two Guvnors Richard Bean 2011 British English
16833 The Man Who Came To Dinner George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart 1939 American English
17007 Blithe Spirit Noel Coward 1941 British English
16985 Black Comedy Peter Shaffer 1965 British English
17117 Mister Monkey Francine Prose 2016 American English
17117 The Funny Man John Warner 2011 American English
17117 The Grin Of The Dark Ramsey Campbell 2007 British English
16872 A Flea In Her Ear Georges Feydeau 1907 French French
17117 The Hostage Brendan Behan 1958 Irish English
17117 Funny Girl Nick Hornby 2014 British English