9 h 9 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 9 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if civilization begins with a saint baptizing penguins by mistake—and power never grows any wiser?
In Anatole France’s Penguin Island, Mael, a nearly blind abbot, reaches a distant island and mistakes penguins for people. His baptism sets an imaginary history in motion. Told as a mock chronicle, the novel follows this people through ancient times, the Middle Ages and a modern republic, turning the history of France and Europe into a sharp, strange joke.
The Chronicler keeps a straight face as saints, kings, generals and financiers crowd the stage. Kraken’s famous dragon tale mixes glory with swindle. Later, Pyrot, an army officer accused of stealing hay, faces an unjust case that divides the republic. Behind the laughter lies a darker question: how easily can fear and pride bend courts, churches, newspapers and crowds?
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely beginning Meet Mael, whose poor sight and holy purpose set the island’s strange history moving.
- Glory with a catch Follow Kraken’s dragon tale into a world where heroic fame and deception share ground.
- Saints, wars and bargains Enter medieval chapters crowded with relics, miracles, feuds, priests and nobles.
- A republic divided See the Pyrot affair expose the pressures that fear and pride place on justice.
- History with a grin Enjoy an ironic chronicle that asks whether civilization changes or repeats its old mistakes.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love sharp political humor, history told with a wink, and tales where saints, soldiers, and bankers all get teased. It rewards anyone curious about how nations invent their myths.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A holy man baptizes birds by mistake
- Heaven argues about form and substance
- Clothes teach a people shame and desire
- Property is born from a murder
- A fake dragon makes a hero rich
- The Middle Ages preserve saints and forget truth
- Revolution and conquest end in glory and ruin
- A plot to restore a king uses a popular admiral
- The Pyrot affair turns a lie into a national creed
- Romance in government leads to war and a bleak future
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Penguin Island
by Anatole France · 1908
A saint baptizes penguins by mistake, and the birds become a nation of kings, rebels, and hay thieves.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens when a nearly blind old saint baptizes a crowd of penguins by mistake? In Penguin Island, heaven holds an emergency meeting, and the answer it finds is to turn the birds into men.
Penguin Island at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 10 min4 h 5 min fast, 6 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 74,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1908by Anatole France
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A holy man baptizes birds by mistake
Maël is a monk of royal blood who becomes abbot of Yvern in Brittany. He builds schools and shipyards, and he blesses a bronze bell and throws it into the sea, where it rings its way to a saint's convent. When he sees a stone trough floating on the water, he takes it as a sign from God.
The Devil, disguised as a monk named Samson, persuades him that a miraculous boat may still wear ordinary rigging. The rigged trough races out of control across the northern seas. Demons blow against the sails, and Maël drifts onto an island of cliffs, hungry and half blind.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1908
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
France, Anatole. Penguin Island. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/penguin-island.
France, A. (2026). Penguin Island. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/penguin-island (Original work published 1908)
France, Anatole. Penguin Island. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/penguin-island.
@book{france2026penguin,
author = {France, Anatole},
title = {Penguin Island},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/penguin-island},
note = {First published 1908}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Penguin Island
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Penguin Island about?
It is a satirical history of an imaginary nation, the Penguins, who are birds turned into men by a saint's mistake. Eight books follow them from their founding myths through kings, revolution, scandal, and a future city.
Is Penguin Island a true story or a satire of real events?
It is invented, written by Anatole France in 1908. The tale mocks real history, including the Dreyfus affair, which appears as the story of Pyrot and the missing hay, along with French politics and church life.
Who are Orberosia, Greatauk, and Pyrot?
Orberosia is the clever woman who helps stage the dragon hoax and becomes the patron saint. Greatauk is the first landowner, later the name of a minister of war. Pyrot is the officer blamed for the missing hay.
The author
Anatole France
1844–1924 · French novelist
Anatole France (1844–1924) was a French novelist, poet and essayist. He was born in Paris and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France. His novels include The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), Thaïs (1890), The Red Lily (1894), Penguin Island (1908) and The Revolt of the Angels (1914).
More by Anatole France
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
