NYR iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

April Fools' 2010: The 11 Most Incredible Literary Hoaxes (PHOTOS, POLL)

The Huffington Post     First Posted: 06/01/10 06:12 AM ET   Updated: 05/25/11 05:00 PM ET

Happy April Fools' Day! This year, at HuffPost Books we're celebrating April Fools' by looking back at some of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time. From a faked document by Roman Emperor Constantine to the woman who posed as a young transvestite prostitute in a series of "memoirs," the tradition of less-than-truthful writing is as old as writing itself. The authors below go beyond James Frey changing some details of his life story; these people invented entirely new personas and documents that left the whole world fooled.

"Jean-Baptiste Botul"
1 of 13
In February 2010, the famous French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was duped by a fake 20th century philosopher, Jean-Baptiste Botul. When Levy made some incendiary claims about Immanuel Kant, calling him "raving mad" and a "fake," he used Botul for support. Turns out it wasn't Kant who was the fake: Botul was created in 1999 by journalist Frederic Pages.
Total comments: 64 | Post a Comment
1 of 13
This Hoax
Not too bad
Shocking!

  • 1

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9

  • 10
Top 5 Hoaxes
loading...
Users who voted on this slide
← Prev|Next →
loading...

FOLLOW HUFFPOST BOOKS

Happy April Fools' Day! This year, at HuffPost Books we're celebrating April Fools' by looking back at some of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time. From a faked document by Roman Emperor Constant...
Happy April Fools' Day! This year, at HuffPost Books we're celebrating April Fools' by looking back at some of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time. From a faked document by Roman Emperor Constant...
Related News On Huffington Post:
 

Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
Adam Langer

Adam Langer: My James Frey Moment: Learning To Lie And Get Away With It

But when I did nothing but lie, violated every rule of journalism, acted in direct opposition to everything my heroes Woodward and Bernstein had seemed to stand for, I didn't get fired at all.
Bill Geerhart

Bill Geerhart: 'Little Billy's Letters': Reality Intrudes Upon a Hoax Letter Writer When Mormons Show Up For Real (PHOTOS)

"Little Billy's Letters" is a collection of my prank letters written in the guise of a child (that would be the titular "Billy") to government officials, teen stars, serial killers, religious leaders and many others.
Joseph C. Wilson

Joseph C. Wilson: Courage and Consequence: Less Memoir Than Hoax

Wasting his opportunity to tell the truth, Karl Rove offers absolutely nothing new in his book, and his selective use of facts and quotes is a transparent effort to continue his long campaign to confuse people.
Eric Boehlert

Eric Boehlert: Will Breitbart, O'Keefe, and Giles Come Clean About the ACORN Pimp Hoax?

Now the fooling is over, and it's time for Breitbart, O'Keefe, and Giles to come clean about the ACORN pimp hoax and their role in spreading it.

What's Your Reaction?
Inspiring
 Funny
 Typical
 Important
 Outrageous
 Amazing
 Innovative
 Beautiful