Customer Reviews

Mark Twain: Four Complete Novels (Book & CD-ROM)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The four stories combined here are, if not Mark Twain's best work, then certainly his most well known and celebrated. The first two, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" have been engrained into popular American culture, and there aren't too many people who haven't read of, or heard of, these characters. "The Prince and the Pauper", and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" also have been celebrated, though not as widely as the first two, and certainly not immortalized like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is based on Twain's own childhood experiences living in Hannibal, MO., a small town along the Mississippi River. Much of What Twain wrote about centered around his own life; and in "Tom Sawyer" Twain uses real life experiences and people he was familiar with. Tom Sawyer is based on himself, and several of his freinds; Huck Finn is based on Tom Blankenship, son of Hannibal's town drunk; Becky Thatcher is based on Laura Hawkins, Twain's childhood sweetheart; Aunt Polly is based on Twain's mother; sid is based on his younger brother Henry; and Injun Joe is based on a man, half indian, who lived in Hannibal.
"Tom Sawyer" is Twain's way of reliving a time in his life he so enjoyed, and an era he was painfully aware was fastly disappearing. Interestingly enough, when "Tom Sawyer" was first published in 1874, it was something of a failure, and initially did not catch on with American readers. It's hard to believe that now, knowing of it's emense popularity; and the countless Tom Sawyer movies that have been made, although none really come close to matching the story itself.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" has been praised as much as it has been condemned. The story of a white boy escaping the vindictiveness of his father and the smothering of "civilization", who inadvertantly must also confront the brutality of slavery at the same time.
Twain originally began this story merely as another adventure, similar to "Tom sawyer". However, he soon realized it would not be written in the same innocent style. Indeed, the story begins that way; yet when Huck and Jim pass Cairo, IL., the city along the Mississippi River famous for being connected with the underground railroad, Twain puts down the manuscript for several years, and has thoughts of even burning it.
It took ten years, and many exasperating rewrites, and many looming, internal questions and struggles, but in 1886 "Huck Finn was finally published. It was not initially well received. Twain went on a tour to promote his book; that, and the calls to ban "Huck finn" helped to generate interest, and sales began to pick up. Over one hundred years later, "Huck Finn" still has its detractors; however, it has survived and become one of America's true classics, taught and studied in schools, and fiercely debated in auditoriums.

"The Prince and the Pauper" was one of Twain's personal favorites; his daughters Susy and Clara's as well, which they begged him to read over and over again. The girls loved it so much Twain converted it into a play, which his daughters, and a friend acted out in the Twain household in Hartford, CT. for the residents, quite successfully. What the reader did not know until later was that "The Prince and the Pauper" was a subtle satire of England and english custom, which Twain loved to criticize.
This story takes place in early 16th century England, and recounts, as alleged by the author, "a tale as it was told to me by one who had it of his father, who latter had it of his father ... and so on".
Tom Canty is the pauper, born on the same day as the prince, Edward Tudor. Quite coincidentally, they both look alike. Tom was born to very poor parents; his father and grandmother loathed him, and as he grew older used him to pickpocket and steal for them.
Years go by and Tom grows into a young, intellectual boy who loves learning and studying. Still, one thing lacks; he wishes he could be royalty. The Prince has also grown, and soon will be crowned King of England. A title he despises. He hates the way he is being treated, and wishes he could be a commoner. As fate would have it, the two eventually meet and switch places. Both are very happy at first, until Edward realizes just how badly commoners are treated, and how badly Tom's father treats him. Meanwhile, the king is on his deathbed, and Tom is a nervous wreck, knowing he must find the real prince before he is crowned the new king. Suddenly the need to switch back is crucial, but neither boy can find each other to make the switch.
A long succession of events follows, much of which is written in Twain's own humorous style. And although the scenes in this story are similar to those in "Tom Sawyer", and often reflect early nineteenth century America, Twain still captures the flavor, however bitterly so, of english life under the rule of the Tudor family.

"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" was written in an age when new mechanical inventions were sweeping the nation, and Twain used this new age in the story, combining it with his own fascination with the King Arthur legend.
The narrator, himself, is a gunsmith, and blacksmith, and very good at working with and creating mechanical wonders; it isn't until the end we learn his name.
An accident causes him to fall unconscious. When he awakes, he discovers he is no longer in Connecticut, but in sixth century England. He is taken prisoner and brought before King Arthur himself. Condemned to die, he uses his knowledge of mechanics to trick Arthur and the people into believing he is a magician. Merlin, jealous of the man and his power, sets out to disprove him. In the meanwhile, the yankee is busy at work by putting his knowledge of machines to good use, or so he attempts; though things do not go as well as hoped.
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is another one of Twain's satires against England, and english customs; perhaps more bitterly written than "Prince and the Pauper".

Tom's adventures were exciting because he does a lot of things he shouldn't do. For instance, he gets lost in a cave with his girlfriend Becky and risks his life for her. He tricks his Aunt Polly into forgiving him and so he ends up not getting the punishment he deserves. Tom witnesses a terrible murder with one of his best friends, Huckleberry Finn. I think this book is one of the most frightening, mysterious and exciting books I've ever read.

What a great book to have when you want to have some of Twain's finest stories. This should be a must-have for any reader's library.

This superb presentation of four Twain classics makes a great addition to any home library. Samuel Langhorn Clemons, aka Mark Twain (1835-1910) combined wit, readable prose, underdog sympathies, and social critique. All are found abundantly in these wonderful pages.

By far the most controversial of these four novels (and my favorite) is ¨The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.¨ Few tales have inspired such enduring controvery and attempts at censorship as this wonderful escapist novel, first published in 1885. Set in the late 1840's, young Huckleberry Finn seeks to escape both social conformity (being ¨civilized¨) and his abusive father. He ends up on a partly-forced journey down the Mississippi River on a raft with Jim, an escaped slave. The two form a close bond as they avoid and endure danger, while the southern-bred Huck also battles his conscience about helping a slave escape. ¨The Adventures of Tom Sawyer¨ mirrors Twain's boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri in the same pre-Civil War era. Many children love this tale of clever, imaginative young Tom, Becky Thatcher, and their frightful experience trapped in a cave with an escaped killer. These two classics have risen from a platform of literature to the pantheon of popular culture.

Twain's less well-known ¨English¨ novels also make fun reading. In ¨The Prince and the Pauper¨ young commoner Tom Canty from 16th Century England switches places with his lookalike heir to the English throne. Canty seeks to escape poverty and family abuse, while heir Edward Tutor seeks to escape his royal station. Then there's time travel in ¨A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,¨ where blacksmith/gunsmith Hank Morgan awakes in Sixth Century England and finds himself condemned to die. Hank uses his technological knowledge to avoid that fate, but then faces further trouble. Of these two novels, the first examines working-class poverty, while the latter satirizes English culture and is also the only of all four stories with an adult as main character.

Four great novels by the writer many consider as American's greatest novelist (and top social critic). This four-story set makes a great addition to your reading.

What makes this 690 page hardcover so unique and a joy to own is the CD-ROM that not only includes the books, but also an audio and video gallery that features a variety of music. pictures, animation, a tour through Twain's life with a multimedia timeline and the only known film footage film of Twain shot in 1909 (thought to have been done by Thomas Edison himself). The title of "Mark Twain Four Complete Novels with Multimedia CD-ROM doesn't
indicate that there is also Mark Twain's "Sketches" which includes "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and Twain's burlesque "Autobiography". There are illustrations throughout the book as well by True Williams, E.W. Kemble, Dan Beard and others from Twain's time period. So you not only get, "Tom Sawyer", "Huck Finn", "A Connecticut Yankee" and "Prince and the Pauper", but all of the truly wonderful information on the CD-ROM. This is an incredible reference work and it's a shame it's out of print. I'm a filmmaker who found out about this book while making a 3D IMAX film "Mark Twain's America" and I have no connection to the publisher.

Great collection of Mark Twain's work: Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Prince and the Pauper and Connecticut Yankee. Any one interested in reading Mark Twain's writings should get this book. Bought it used. Was very reasonably priced and in great condition.

I was well pleased with the condition of this book and the timliness of delivery.

Everyone knows them, but most of us have forgot them. These classics bring back memories of the stories we "Had" to read during our formal education years. Now as an adult one can really appreciate the humor and styling of Twain. Kinda of like watching kids cartoons nowadays....these stories are really more for the older reader/viewer than the kids, no wonder I disliked it so much when I was younger.

I was never interested in reading when I was in school. I started reading after I graduated high school. Good thing too. Now, I can't stop reading. And I'm actually interested and understand better today. Mark Twain's stories may seem..... old. But still a VERY good read.

As an author with my debut novel in its initial release, I recommend this collection of Mark Twain's works highly. Singularly, each of these books is a landmark in American literature. Collectively, they form the comprehensive "must-read" collection of one of the giants of American writing. If you could own just one book by Mark Twain, this one would be it.