The Prince and the Pauper (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) FROM OUR EDITORS
Barnes
& Noble Classics offers quality editions at affordable prices to
the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful
design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable
features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers
and scholars
Biographies of the authors
Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical,
and cultural events
Footnotes and endnotes
Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems,
books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
Comments by other famous authors
Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints
and expectations
Bibliographies for further reading
Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate
All
editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications;
some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics
pulls together a constellation of influencesᄑbiographical, historical, and
literaryᄑto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
When Mark Twainᄑs The Prince and the Pauper was
published in 1881, the Atlanta Constitution sang its praises in no uncertain
terms: ᄑThe book comes upon the reading public in the shape of a revelation.ᄑ
A timeless tale of switched identities, Twainᄑs story revolves around the
miserably poor Tom Canty ᄑof Offal Court,ᄑ who is lucky enough to trade his
rags for the gilded robes of Englandᄑs prince, Edward Tudor. As each boy is
mistaken for the other, Tom enters a realm of privilege and pleasure beyond
his most delirious dreams, while Edward plunges into a cruel, dangerous world
of beggars and thieves, cutthroats and killers. Befriended by the heroic
Miles Hendon, Edward struggles to survive on the squalid streets of London,
in the process learning about the underside of life in ᄑMerry England.ᄑ
With its mixing of high adventure, raucous comedy, and scathing social
criticism, presented in a hilarious faux-sixteenth-century vernacular that only
Mark Twain could fashion, The Prince and the Pauper remains one of
this incomparable humoristᄑs most popular and oft-dramatized tales.
Robert Tine is the author of six novels, including State of Grace
and Black Market. He has written for a variety of periodicals and
magazines, from the New York Times to Newsweek.
Features illustrations by William Hatherell.