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  • Published: 30 December 2003
  • ISBN: 9780553898347
  • Imprint: RH US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 224

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer




Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child

Mark Twain’s classic coming-of-age novel about innocence, courage, and the mischievous young boy whose misadventures continue to delight generations of readers—with an afterword by Alfred Kazin

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in.”—Mark Twain, from the Preface

Sparkling with mischief, jumping with youthful adventurousness, Tom Sawyer is one of the most splendid re-creations of childhood in all of literature. It is a lighthearted romp, full of humor and warmth. It shares with its sequel, the masterpiece Huckleberry Finn, not only a set of unforgettable characters—Tom, Huck, Aunt Polly, and others—but a profound understanding of humankind as well. Through such hilarious scenes as the famous fence-whitewashing incident, Twain gives us a portrait—perceptive yet tender—of a humanity rendered foolish by its own aspirations and obsessions.

An enduring classic that famously appeals to young and old alike, Tom Sawyer is the work of a master storyteller performing in his shirtsleeves, using his best talents to everyone’s delight.

  • Published: 30 December 2003
  • ISBN: 9780553898347
  • Imprint: RH US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 224

Other books in the series

A Dog's Heart
The Black Tulip
The Lady of the Camellias
Selected Poetry
On Sparta
Man and Superman
Saint Joan
Botchan
Kusamakura
Military Dispatches

About the author

Mark Twain

Mark Twain's real name was Sam Clemens, and he was born in 1835 in a small town on the Mississippi, one of seven children. He smoked cigars at the age of eight, and aged nine he stowed away on a steamboat. He left school at 11 and worked at a grocery store, a bookstore, a blacksmith's and a newspaper, where he was allowed to write his own stories (not all of them true). He then worked on a steamboat, where he got the name 'Mark Twain' (from the call given by the boat's pilot when their boat is in safe waters). Eventually he turned to journalism again, travelled round the world, and began writing books which became very popular. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are his most famous novels. He poured the money he earned from writing into new business ventures and crazy inventions, such as a clamp to stop babies throwing off their bed covers, a new boardgame, and a hand grenade full of extinguishing liquid to throw on a fire. With his shock of white hair and trademark white suit Mark Twain became the most famous American writer in the world. He died in 1910.

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