The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain

University of California Press, Apr 5, 2011 - Literary Criticism - 342 pages

"What am I writing? A historical tale of 300 years ago, simply for the love of it." Mark Twain’s "tale" became his first historical novel, The Prince and the Pauper, published in 1881. Intricately plotted, it was intended to have the feel of history even though it was only the stuff of legend. In sixteenth-century England, young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and Tom Canty, a pauper boy who looks exactly like him, are suddenly forced to change places. The prince endures "rags & hardships" while the pauper suffers the "horrible miseries of princedom." Mark Twain called his book a "tale for young people of all ages," and it has become a classic of American literature.

The first edition in 1881 was fully illustrated by Frank Merrill, John Harley, and L. S. Ipsen. The boys in these illustrations, Mark Twain said, "look and dress exactly as I used to see them cast in my mind. . . . It is a vast pleasure to see them cast in the flesh, so to speak." This Mark Twain Library edition exactly reproduces the text of the California scholarly edition, including all of the 192 illustrations that so pleased the author.

Contents

• 1 The Birth of the Prince and the Pauper: 1
• 2 Toms Early Life: 3
• 3 Toms Meeting with the Prince: 11
• 4 The Princes Troubles Begin: 21
• 5 Tom as a Patrician: 27
• 6 Tom Receives Instructions: 39
• 7 Toms First Royal Dinner: 51
• 8 The Question of the Seal: 57
• 9 The River Pageant: 61
• 10 The Prince in the Toils: 65
• 11 At Guildhall: 77
• 12 The Prince and His Deliverer: 85
• 13 The Disappearance of the Prince: 101
• 14 Le Roi Est MortVive Ie Roi: 109
• 15 Tom as King: 123
• 16 The State Dinner: 135
• 17 FooFoo the First: 141
• 18 The Prince with the Tramps: 157
• 19 The Prince with the Peasants: 169
• 20 The Prince and the Hermit: 177
• 21 Hendon to the Rescue: 187
• 22 A Victim of Treachery: 193
• 23 The Prince a Prisoner: 201
• 24 The Escape: 207
• 25 Hendon Hall: 211
• 26 Disowned: 221
• 27 In Prison: 227
• 28 The Sacrifice: 239
• 29 To London: 245
• 30 Toms Progress: 249
• 3l The Recognition Procession: 253
• 32 Coronation Day: 263
• 33 Edward as King: 277
• Conclusion Justice and Retribution: 287
• Notes: 291
• MAP OF LONDON: 298
• REFERENCES: 301
• EXPLANATORY NOTES: 303
• NOTE ON THE TEXT: 319

About the author

Mark Twain was born Samuel L. Clemens in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He worked as a printer, and then became a steamboat pilot. He traveled throughout the West, writing humorous sketches for newspapers. In 1865, he wrote the short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which was very well received. He then began a career as a humorous travel writer and lecturer, publishing The Innocents Abroad in 1869, Roughing It in 1872, and, Gilded Age in 1873, which was co-authored with Charles Dudley Warner. His best-known works are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mississippi Writing: Life on the Mississippi, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Prince and the Pauper; Volume 5 of Mark Twain Library
• Author: Mark Twain
• Editor: Victor Fischer
• Edition: illustrated, annotated
• Publisher: University of California Press, 2011
• ISBN: 0520949587, 9780520949584
• Length: 342 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / General; Literary Criticism / American / General