In this lively work, Beatrice K. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history—the court jester. Tho

Jesters and fools have existed as important and consistent figures in nearly all cultures. Sometimes referred to as clowns, they are typological characters who

When they discover that laughter is missing from their kingdom, a jester and his helpmate set out on a quest to find it.

When Princess Lily is captured by a dragon, Peasant Pig bravely attempts her rescue.

A “marvelous history”* of medieval Europe, from the bubonic plague and the Papal Schism to the Hundred Years’ War, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author