A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - with 88 original illustrations (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781909735859)

Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835. Apprenticed to a printer, he left home at 17 and lived as a freelance typesetter, with stints as a steamboat pilot, prospector, soldier and eventually a journalist. After traveling in Egypt and Europe he began writing in earnest, penning such memorable works as 'Huckleberry Finn', 'Roughing It', 'Tom Sawyer', and this present work. 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' is a riveting mix of historical novel and science fiction, with a large slice of political commentary thrown in for good measure. It tells the story of Hank Morgan, carried back in time to medieval Britain, where he uses 19th century science to escape numerous perils, and to astound the locals. Hank falls in love, marries, has a child, and rises to become 'The Boss', King Arthur's right-hand man, only to be suddenly whisked away to his own time. While the book can be enjoyed solely as an adventurous historical romp, Mark Twain's tale has a more serious purpose - to shine a light on the absurdity of those claiming superiority based upon hierarchy, heredity, and a host of unjust laws.