The Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain
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See Also
- Mark Twain (Censorship (Ready Reference series))
- Mark Twain (Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction, Revised Edition)
- Mark Twain (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
- Mark Twain (Dictionary of World Biography: The 19th Century)
- Mark Twain (Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition)
- Mark Twain (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Mark Twain
- First Published: 1881
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social satire and historical
- Setting: England
- Characters: Tom Canty, John Canty, Edward, Miles Hendon, Hugh Hendon, Father Andrew, Hugo
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Historical fiction, Satire, Novel
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, Prisons, Mistaken or secret identity, Friendship, Poverty or poor people, England or English people, Robbery or robbers, Kings, queens, or royalty, Adventure, Sixteenth century, Wealth, Boys, Begging or beggars, Nobility, Princes or princesses, Impostors or imposture
- Locales: Europe, London, England, United Kingdom
The Story:
Tom Canty and Prince Edward are born in London on the same day. Tom, however, is unwanted, and Edward has been long awaited. While the prince lies robed in silks, Tom grows up in the filth of Offal Court. As a small child, Tom is forced by his father to beg during the day and is beaten by him at night. Gathering a ragtag court of street urchins around him, Tom often pretends that he is a prince. Father Andrew, a priest who lives in Tom’s house, teaches Tom to read.
One day, hoping to see Prince Edward of England, Tom visits the royal precincts, but when he...
(The entire page is 3094 words.)
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Popular Questions
See all »- In "The Prince and the Pauper," what are the grand hereditaries?
- Compare and contrast the main characters of Tom Canty and Edward Tudor in The Prince and the Pauper.
- Why did Twain choose the reign of Edward VI about which to write his novel?
- Why does Edward decide to perform the menial tasks in The Prince and the Pauper? Chapter 19
- In Chapter 7 of Prince and the Pauper, why did the two lords assigned to Tom feel that he was not the real Prince? Explain...
