Mark Twain: Books

As written by the ingenuous, virtuous, and learned Mark Twain, wit. Embellished by the worthy Alan Odle.

Illustrations Foreword Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Notice, Explanatory, Chapters 1-42, Chapter the Last) Maps Explanatory Notes Glossary References Notes on the Text

A sumptuous new edition of the great American novel. "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn," Ernest Hemingway once declared. First published in 1885, the book has delighted millions of readers, while simultaneously riling contemporary sensibilities, and is still banned in many schools and libraries. Now, Michael Patrick Hearn, author of the best-selling The Annotated Wizard of Oz, thoroughly reexamines the 116-year heritage of that archetypal American boy, Huck Finn, and follows his adventures along every bend of the mighty Mississippi River. Hearn's copious annotations draw on primary sources including the original manuscript, Twain's revisions and letters, and period accounts. Reproducing the original E. W. Kemble illustrations from the first edition, as well as countless archival photographs and drawings, some of them previously unpublished, The Annotated Huckleberry Finn is a book no family's library can do without; it may well prove to be the classic edition of the great American novel. 274 illustrations, two-color throughout.

Presents Mark Twain's authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.

The most humorous selections from his stories, sketches, novels, travel books, and speeches.

Also available as an e-book.

Mark Twain explores the darker side of life in these little-known later writings. The tone is lightened considerably by Twain's sagely ironic humor that balances his tough-mindedness.

Also available as an e-book.

Also available as an e-book.

This exuberantly eclectic collection of Twain's writings includes parody, criticism, and commentary, all published after his death in 1910.

Also available as an e-book.

Also available as an e-book.

This is the controversial NewSouth edition edited by Alan Gribben who teaches at Auburn University Montgomery in Montgomery, Alabama. Prof. Gribben has "... eliminate(d) the pejorative racial labels that Twain employed in his effort to write realistically about social attitudes of the 1840s."

The essays in this volume represent a wide range of approaches to one of the most popular of all American novels. Michael Bell re-examines the crucial issue of romanticism versus realism in the book. Janet McKay discusses the linguistic subtleties of the novel, showing the social implications inherent in Twain's brilliant use of the vernacular. Lee Mitchell draws on post-structuralist theories to question Huck's own assumption that words themselves can represent the social world. Steven Mailloux combines sociopolitical perspectives and the methods of contemporary 'reader-response' analysis to identify how humour is generated in Huckleberry Finn and to enrich our understanding of the novel's topical impact.

For what scandalous reason was the original publication ofThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finndelayed? What were the names of Samuel Clemens pets? How are his attitudes towards politics and religion revealed in his work? Find the answers to these questions and many more inThe OxfordCompanion to Mark Twain, which encapsulates the most important scholarship on Twains life, his works, and his times. Organized in an A-Z format, the volume contains entries on all of his works, people and places related to his biography, and analyses of Twains takes on a variety of topics, from confidence games to slavery. It also features five essays by major Mark Twain scholars on important aspects of his life and work, and interspersed throughout are essays on selected Twain classics by such literary luminaries as Arthur Miller, Frederick Pohl, and Nat Hentoff. Featuring an extensive bibliography, a comprehensive index, a chronology of Twains works, and over forty illustrations,The Oxford Companion to Mark Twainis the most authoritative and complete reference work available and is perfect for student and fan alike.

"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.

Here, for the first time in book form, are 24 remarkable pieces by the American master -- pieces that have been handpicked by Robert Hirst, general director of the Mark Twain Project at the University of California, Berkeley.