Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper Mark Twain

Publisher Marketing: Tom Canty (youngest son of a family living with the dregs of society in Offal Court) has always aspired to a better life, encouraged by the local priest (who has taught him to read and write). Loitering around the palace gates one day, he sees a prince (the Prince of Wales - Edward VI). Tom is nearly caught and beaten by the Royal Guards; however, Edward stops them and invites Tom into his palace chamber. There the two boys get to know one another, fascinated by each other's life and their uncanny resemblance. They decide to switch clothes "temporarily." Edward leaves in a hurry before the boys are caught at their game, snatching up an article of national importance (which the reader later learns is the Great Seal of England). Soon Prince Edward is trying to escape the brutality of Tom's abusive, drunken father; Tom, posing as the prince, tries to cope with court customs and manners. His fellow nobles and palace staff think "the prince" has an illness which has caused memory loss, and fear he will go mad. They repeatedly ask him about the missing "Great Seal," but he knows nothing about it. However, when Tom is asked to sit in on judgments his common-sense observations reassure them his mind is sound. Review Citations: Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/2009 pg. 1027 (EAN 9780375761126, Paperback) Kliatt 03/01/2002 pg. 52 (EAN 9781931056472, Analog Audio Cassette) Publishers Weekly 08/06/2001 (EAN 9781931056472, Analog Audio Cassette) School Library Journal 10/01/1996 (EAN 9780787106393, Analog Audio Cassette) Ingram Children's Advance 06/01/1999 pg. 65 (EAN 9780679892137, Paperback) Contributor Bio:  Twain, Mark Mark Twain is the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910). He is the author of the beloved classics The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and The Prince and the Pauper.