Overview

Set in 1547, The Prince and the Pauper tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. After a chance encounter, Prince Edward decides to switch places with Tom, so that he can experience life as a London pauper. He quickly learns of the harsh, punitive nature of the English judicial system and vows to reign with mercy when he regains his rightful place. The Prince and the Pauper is Mark Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Initially intended as a play, the book was originally set in Victorian England before Twain decided to set it further back in time. The novel is both a critique of social inequality and a criticism of judging others by their appearance. This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket.

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9781774762592

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"Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called ""The Great American Novel."" Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. After an apprenticeship with a printer, Twain worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to the newspaper of his older brother, Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1865, his humorous story ""The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"" was published, based on a story he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention, and was even translated into classic Greek. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Twain was born shortly after a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would ""go out with it"", too. He died the day after the comet returned. He was lauded as the ""greatest American humorist of his age,"" and William Faulkner called Twain ""the father of American literature."""

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