Monday, December 31, 2018

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain


Title: The Prince and the Pauper
Author: Mark Twian
Pages: 296
Finished: December 30, 2018

First Sentence: In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him.

Summary: This is one of those books that everyone seems to know the skeleton plot of. Pauper Tom Canty switches places with the Prince Edward Tudor by accident. They live the other person's life for a few weeks, and then manage to switch back where they learn how their experiences changed them.

Thoughts: Like my poor summary above, I knew little about this novel other than the switch. Again, like many classics, most of my knowledge comes from the Wishbone adaptations. (Thank you PBS and Wishbone!) The first thing I noticed was the fact that the prince in the novel was Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. I had assumed it was a fictional prince, but this is actually a piece of historical fiction with real historical figures!

The novel itself is an interesting novel to read. I've read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn numerous times. In high school, I even wrote a paper on why Huck Finn is one of the best pieces of American Literature. So I thought I knew what I was getting into when I picked this novel up. While it has plenty of Twain's sarcasm and irony, there's a very different feel to the novel. One of the main differences is the historical setting and subject matter. I always knew that the second half of Henry VIIIs reign was a brutal one, but I never realized how brutal. Of course, the novel may have taken liberties as it's clear Edward needed an example to move against as he grew up. Still, it was brutal, and we know that Henry the VIII executed plenty of people.

I noticed that this book didn't read as quickly as I expected it to. I was excited to have a sub 300 page book. I was especially excited to read a sub 300 page book written by Twain because I've flown through his novels before. I found myself finding excuses to NOT read when I had a chance. For whatever reason, the story just didn't grab me as much as I would have hoped. And I can't even figure out why.

Mark Twain considered this his best novel. I think I have to reread Huck Finn (It's been over a decade) to see how I feel.

This was my Classic Club Spin #19. My list is now halfway complete!

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