10. "The Tale of Sir Thopas" by Chaucer
9. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
8. The Splendid Shilling by John Philips
7. The Dunciad by Alexander Pope
6. Shamela by Henry Fielding
5. Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock
4. "Love and Freindship" by Jane Austen
3. Ulysses by James Joyce
2. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Drum roll, please.... And the #1 literary parody (when read in reverse order, to artificially conflate its significance):
1. "Chard Whitlow" by Henry Reed
'As we get older we do not get any younger.' T.S. Eliot himself professed admiration for this unerring parody of his late poetic style, as gravely exhibited in Four Quartets. 'And I cannot say I should like (to speak for myself) / To see my time again — if you can call it time.' Perfectly portentous.
If you happen to receive the Guardian, Mullan's ten best appears on page 13 of the "Features & Reviews" section.
