Summary: The Prince and the Pauper (1882) represents Mark Twain’s first attempt at historical fiction. The book, set in 1547, 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, London, and Prince Edward son of Henry VIII of England. Due to a series of circumstances, the boys accidentally replace each other, and much of the humor in the book originates in the two boys’ inability to function in the world that is so familiar to the other (although Tom soon displays considerable wisdom in his decisions). In many ways, the book is a social satire, particularly compelling in its condemnation of the inequality that existed between the classes in Tudor England. In that sense, Twain abandoned the wry Midwestern style for which he was best known and adopts a style reminiscent of Charles Dickens. (Summary from Wikipedia.org)
Total running time: 6 hours, 56 minutes
To hear this book, click play in the box below or click on the chapter titles.
04 – The Prince / 05 – Tom as a Patrician
06 – Tom receives instructions
07 – Tom’s first royal dinner / 08 – The question of the Seal
09 – The river pageant / 10 – The Prince in the toils
12 – The Prince and his deliverer
13 – The disappearance of the Prince
14 – ‘Le Roi est mort—vive le Roi’
16 – The state dinner / 17 – Foo-foo the First
18 – The Prince with the tramps / 19 – The Prince with the peasants
20 – The Prince and the hermit / 21 – Hendon to the rescue
22 – A victim of treachery / 23 – The Prince a prisoner
24 – The escape / 25 – Hendon Hall
26 – Disowned / 27 – In prison
28 – The sacrifice / 29 – To London / 30 – Tom’s progress
31 – The Recognition procession
