author

W. G. Worfel

A little mysterious even now, this early 20th-century American writer is remembered for a single imaginative book that sends Baron Munchausen’s legacy into even wilder territory. The result is a playful, old-fashioned fantasy full of tall tales, satire, and impossible adventures.

1 Audiobook

Munchausen XX

Munchausen XX

by W. G. Worfel

About the author

Very little firm biographical information appears to survive about W. G. Worfel. Science fiction reference sources describe the name as a pseudonym and note that the author remains essentially untraced, which makes the work itself the clearest window into the writer behind it.

Worfel is known for Munchausen XX, published in 1904 by Rand, McNally and Company and illustrated by Richard Harvey Curtis. The book reimagines the Munchausen tradition for a new century, following descendants of the famous Baron through extravagant adventures that blend humor, fantasy, and a taste for the absurd.

That air of mystery has become part of the author’s appeal. With so little certain personal history available, W. G. Worfel stands as one of those intriguing almost-lost figures whose reputation rests on a single strange and spirited book.