Satire

"Disturber of the Peace" is a puzzling book for many, not the least Arthur Abbott, the book's publisher. In the opening pages of the novel he cannot decide if the person who wrote the book wrote a deliberately satirical novel or if it should be taken at face value. In the end, it is not ever resolved. Certainly if Barbara wrote a satire she was not aware she was doing it at the time since it seems that she does not even know what the definition of "satire" is. Yet as is the case with many satires, the humor, whether intentional or not, is lost on residents of Silverstream with a few notable exceptions (such as Sarah Walker and Sally Carter). Instead of laughing at themselves, Silverstream villagers by and large all follow Mrs. Featherstone Hogg's quest of injustice to persecute the true identity of John...