Prince and the Pauper

Tom Canty is a London street urchin who dreams of becoming a king while Edward Tudor Prince of Wales dreams of escaping his royal confinement. By a sudden twist of fate they find themselves in each other's circumstances. Thus a bedraggled Prince of Poverty is raised to royalty while a pampered Prince of Wales finds himself tossed into a world of filthy beggars and villainous thieves. The Prince and the Pauper originally published in 1881 is one of Mark Twain's earliest social satires. With his tongue in cheek irony Twain satirizes the power of the monarchy unjust laws and barbaric punishments religious intolerance and superstitions. Although originally written as a story for children The Prince and Pauper is a classic novel for adults as well offering critical insight into a people and time period not really all that different from our own.