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"The Prince and the Pauper" is the story of how when young Prince Edward Tudor of Wales and Pauper Tom Canty switch clothes that they are mistaken for each other and end up switching places. Prince Edward learns of the struggles of the commoners of England while Tom discovers what it is like to be a Prince and then a King. «The Prince and the Pauper» is both a delightfully comedic tale and a biting social commentary on the inequities among different social classes.

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Originally one story but divided into two, «Puddn'head Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins» is a combination of Mark Twain's light-hearted humor as well as his penchant for the melancholy. «Pudd'nhead Wilson» is a murder mystery set in the Antebellum South in Missouri, more specifically, on the Mississippi River. During infancy, a light-skinned black baby and a white-skinned baby were switched at birth by a slave mother. Because the black baby grows up thinking he is white, he is highly racist toward his slaves. The white baby, who thinks he is a slave, grows up with no guidance and makes a living stealing, drinking, and doing other immoral things. During a murder trial, the town lawyer Puddn'head Wilson is able to expose the boys' true identities. Formerly, though, the entire story was supposed to center around «Those Extraordinary Twins» Luigi and Angelo Capello. Twain admitted that their story was now less exciting than he had imagined, allowing their story to become more humorous. Even though Twain's love of twin confusion is one of Twain's favorite storytelling techniques, «Puddn'head Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins» is carried by themes of racism, Southern customs, and questions of identity. Although Twain is best known for «The Adventures of Tom Sawyer» and «The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,» many who read «Puddn'head Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins» find that it is actually one of the best Twain stories written.

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Mark Twain's semi-autobiographical travel memoir, «Roughing It» was written between 1870-1871 and subsequently published in 1872. Billed as a prequel to «Innocents Abroad», in which Twain details his travels aboard a pleasure cruise, «Roughing It» documents Twain's early days in the old wild west between the years 1861-1867.

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A work that Mark Twain himself considered his last finished and most important novel, «The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc», is a departure from Twain's usual comic and satirical spirit. «Joan» is a work of serious historical reflection that suggests that the English deliberately rigged the trial of Joan of Arc to convict her of witchcraft and heresy, a view that recent scholarship seems to support.

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"The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories" is a collection of Mark Twain's most loved short stories. In this collection you will find the following tales: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Facts Concerning The Recent Carnival Of Crime In Connecticut, The Stolen White Elephant, Luck, The £1,000,000 Bank Note, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, The Five Boons Of Life, Was It Heaven? Or Hell?, and The Mysterious Stranger.

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In this representative volume, “The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories” the reader will find twenty-four of Mark Twain’s best shorter works. Classic and unforgettable tales that span the author’s career are included, such as “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, which is Twain’s most famous short story and was his first great success as an author. It is the unforgettable tale of Jim Smiley, the gambler who will bet on anything including a frog-jumping competition. Also included is the fascinating and unfinished final novel by Twain, “The Mysterious Stranger”, which he worked on over a period of several years from 1897 to 1908 and was finally published after his death. The story takes place several hundred years ago and features a mysterious character who is revealed to be Satan himself. Far darker, more serious, and mature than Twain’s earlier works, this final story grapples with challenging and important concerns about the moral failings of men and the fate of the human race. This collection is an important addition to the library of anyone who enjoys one of America’s most renowned authors. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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“The Diaries and Adam and Eve” by Mark Twain was originally published as two separate stories and were later combined at Twain’s request. “Extracts from Adam’s Diary” was published as a stand-alone book in 1904. In 1905, “Eve’s Diary” was published in the Christmas issue of “Harper’s Bazaar” and then as a book in 1906. With his signature wit and charm, Twain tells the separate stories of humanity’s biblical ancestors from the perspective of each in the form of diary entries. As one would expect from one of America’s greatest humorist, Adam and Eve’s diaries are funny and clever interpretations of these classic biblical tales. Adam is portrayed as lazy, cranky, and disinterested in the new, long-haired creature he suddenly finds with him in the Garden of Eden. Eve, in contrast, is enthusiastic, chatty, and brimming with curiosity about the enchanting and abundant life around them. The couple’s children, Cain and Abel, also make a brief appearance, though Adam is characteristically uninterested and Eve is left to the do all the hard work. Twain’s retelling of this classic and ancient myth is touching, funny, and an essential addition to the library of anyone who appreciates one of America’s best storytellers. This edition includes a biographical afterword and the original illustration of F. Strothmann and Lester Ralph.

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First appearing as an anonymous serial in «Harper’s Magazine» in 1895, “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” was Mark Twain’s final novel and was published as a complete work under his name in 1896. The novel is a stark departure from Twain’s usual comic and satirical writings, which is why Twain insisted it initially be published anonymously so that the public would take it seriously. The work is told from the perspective of a fictionalized version of Joan’s page, Louis de Conte, and is divided into three parts based on Joan’s life: her upbringing, her victorious time as a military commander, and her trial at Rouen. The novel is sympathetic to Joan and suggests that the English deliberately rigged the trial of Joan of Arc to convict her of witchcraft and heresy, a view that recent scholarship seems to support. Twain was deeply fascinated by Joan of Arc for much of his life. He considered “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” to be his best and most important work and spent nearly 15 years researching and working on the novel. The result is a work of sincere and engrossing historical fiction. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Fully entitled “The Innocents Abroad, or the New Pilgrims’ Progress,” Twain’s colorful travelogue is a compilation of the newspaper articles he wrote while on a cruise to Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land with other American tourists in 1867. His account frequently uses humor to describe the people and places he visits, although this becomes highly satiric at times as Twain becomes frustrated with European profiteering, a pointless historical anecdote in Gibraltar, and the overly institutionalized nature of countries like Italy. Where he critiques, however, he also feels a strange reverence, as in the Canary Islands and the Holy Land. A more serious theme also flows through Twain’s experience. Twain sees the conflict between history and the modern world as he travels with his New World compatriots through the lands of ancient civilizations, ultimately discovering that you can’t believe everything you read in travel guidebooks. This landmark work finds Twain searching for the American identity as it increasingly casts its shadow over the world of Old Europe. This edition includes an introduction by Edward P. Hingston and a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1883, “Life on the Mississippi” is Mark Twain’s depiction of his life on the Mississippi river as a steamboat pilot. The work begins with a brief history of the river from the perspective of notable Americans and Europeans starting with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1542. The narrative continues with Twain’s memoir of his time as an apprentice under the stewardship of experienced steamboat pilot, Horace E. Bixby. While he was twenty-one at the time, Twain portrays himself as much younger, romanticizing his youthful exuberance for his adventures aboard the steamboats of the Mississippi. The second half of the book details a trip along the Mississippi River from St. Louis to New Orleans in the years following the American Civil War. A charming depiction of a bygone era in American history, combined with many tall tales and humorous anecdotes, “Life on the Mississippi” is one of Mark Twain’s most famous works of non-fiction, one which would establish him as one of 19th century America’s premier humorists. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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