Mark Twain, página 14 de 79

"What am I writing? A historical tale of 300 years ago, simply for the love of it." Mark Twain's "tale" became his first historical novel, "The Prince and the Pauper," published in 1881. Intricately plotted, it was intended to have the feel of history even though it was only the stuff of legend. In sixteenth-century England, young Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) and Tom Canty, a pauper boy who looks exactly like him, are suddenly forced to change places. The prince endures "rags & hardships" while the pauper suffers the "horrible miseries of princedom." Mark Twain called his book a "tale for young people of all ages," and it has become a classic of American literature. The first edition in 1881 was fully illustrated by Frank Merrill, John Harley, and L. S. Ipsen. The boys in these illustrations, Mark Twain said, "look and dress exactly as I used to see them cast in my mind. . . . It is a vast pleasure to see them cast in the flesh, so to speak." This Mark Twain Library edition exactly reproduces the text of the California scholarly edition, including all of the 192 illustrations that so pleased the author.

Los temas biblícos de la creación del mundo y del hombre obsesionaron a Mark Twain (1835-1910) durante toda su vida de escritor. Es constante la referencia en sus relatos, cartas y anotaciones a trabajos que estaba desarrollando, o proyectos que planeaba, con la intencion de reunirlos en una magna obra dedicada a los escritos biblicos.

Sparkling with mischief, jumping with youthful adventure, Mark Twain's 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, Huckleberry Finn, not only a set of unforgettable characters--Tom, Huck, Aunt Polly and others--but a profound understanding of humanity as well. Through such hilarious scenes as the famous fence-whitewashing incident, Twain gives a portrait--perceptive yet tender--of a humanity rendered foolish by his own aspirations and obsessions. Written as much for adults as for young boys and girls, Tom Sawyer is the work of a master storyteller performing in his shirt sleeves, using his best talents to everyone's delight.

La acción del libro se engancha a uno de los motivos fundamentales de los cuentos populares, el del hermano menor que logra vencer al dragón, conseguir el tesoro y casarse con la hija del rey

Esta vez el forastero, por misterioso que pareciera, no se presentó con cuernos, ni con rabo, ni con patas de cabra. Al contrario, «vestía ropa nueva y buena, era guapo, tenía un rostro atractivo y u

En esta obra, Twain nos cuenta una historia de enredos, misterios y asesinatos. En Deer Link, un pequeño pueblo situado en algún lugar de Estados Unidos, Mary, la hija del humilde granjero John Gray, se va a casar con Hugh Gregory, un apuesto y acaudalado joven. La alegria del padre es doble: su hija se va a casar con uno de los mejores partidos del pueblo, tendra fortuna y ademas la boda irritara a su hermano David, con quien esta peleado desde hace años y que odia a Hugh desde hace mucho tiempo por un antiguo pleito. Todo parece ir sobre ruedas hasta que el reverendo del pueblo informa a John de una gran noticia... David ha hecho testamento a favor de Mary, toda su fortuna sera para ella, y la alegria inicial deviene en preocupacion...

O `Diario de Eva´ e os `Retallos do Diario de Adán´ son dous longos relatos nos que está presente, como factor unificador, o vigoroso humor de Mark Twain, cun estilo directo, acedo e irreverente, e a

Follow the adventures of Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn in this classic tale from Mark Twain... Rip Van Winklefinds some strange old men in the mountains, but who are they, and why are they there? Meet Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - a teacher who likes ghost stories.

"... era preciso aprovechar la poca luz del día que quedaba para disponer las cosas y partir. Luego se escurrieron fuera de la casa, en las crecientes sombras del anochecer, y se dirigieron hacia el rio con su preciosa caja... Y los vieron alejarse a traves de las rendijas..."

"'Huckleberry Finn' is, among other things, a complex, serious book. And it should be taught as such--to children old enough to think and read with imagination. The supposedly racially insensitive tale, with its repeated use of the word 'nigger,' is the most devastating portrait More... of American white trash and white-trash racism that has ever been written. 'Huck Finn' savages racism as thoroughly as any document in American history...After 'Huckleberry Finn' was published in 1885, the Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts, banned the book. As the 'Boston Transcript' reported: 'One member of the committee says that, while he does not wish to call it immoral, he thinks it contains but little humor, and that of a very coarse type. He regards it as the veriest trash. The librarian and the other members of the committee entertain similar views, characterizing it as rough, coarse, and inelegant.'"

Mark Twain (1835-1910), escritor de éxito, criouse á beira do río Mississippi e foi oficial de imprenta, piloto de barco de vapor, buscador de ouro, soldado, xornalista e madereiro. A súa obra máis coñecida e As aventuras de Tom Sawyer (coleccion Xabarin nº 9). Un ianqui na corte do rei Arturo (1889) relata as aventuras dun ianqui de Connecticut, Hank Morgan, o supervisor dun taller de maquinas, que no ano 1879 se ve supetamente transportado a corte do rei Arturo, na Inglaterra do seculo VI. Tras chegar ao poder, proponse introducir no pais os adiantos da civilizacion do seculo XIX, destruindo ao tempo a tirania da Igrexa e maila nobreza. Sobre esta liña argumental na que se reflecte a vida nunha Inglaterra do seculo VI que se parece ben pouco a Inglaterra real do seculo VI, e cun cun sentido do humor moi americano, Mark Twain vai intercalando paragrafos co que poderiamos chamar o seu ideario politico, propio dun burgues progresista: contra a tirania, a igualdade de todolos homes (brancos) ante a lei; contra a monarquia, a republica; contra o escurantismo catolico, a liberdade relixiosa, contra a supersticion, a educacion. George Orwell considera que con esta obra Twain realizou un deliberado afago ao peor e mais vulgar da vida norteamericana. Twain recrea, pois, nesa Inglaterra do seculo VI unha utopia industrial tipicamente ianqui xogando e burlandose dos topicos das lendas arturicas, sempre guiado polo ideario progresista da epoca que lle tocou vivir. Un clasico da literatura americana de todolos tempos que recuperou para o galego a rigorosa e coidada traduccion de Abel Lopez, quen realizou tamen o prologo e as notas da presente edicion do Xabarin.

Two babies born on the same day into very different lives. One is a prince and the other is a pauper who will grow up begging on the streets of London. Ten years later they meet and change places. For a short time they enjoy it but then they cannot change back. That same day, the old King dies. Will a pauper now be King of England?

The classic story of a mischievous nineteenth-century boy in a Mississippi River town and his friends, Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher, as they run away from home, witness a murder, and find a treasure