The Prince and the Pauper [Paperback]

Tom Canty and Edward Tudor could have been identical twins. Their birthdays and their faces match, but there the likeness stops. For Edward is prince, heir to King Henry VIII of England, whilst Tom is a miserable pauper. But fate intervenes, and their identities become confused. Soon the prince is thrown out of the palace in rags, leaving ignorant Tom to play the part of a royal prince.“Twain was . . . enough of a genius to build his morality into his books, with humor and wit and—in the case ofThe Prince and the Pauper—wonderful plotting.” —E. L. DoctorowMark Twain is the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910). He was born in Missouri, USA. He travelled around America, seeking fame and fortune before becoming a successful journalist and travel writer. In 1876The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, inspired by his own childhood, was published, followed eight years later byThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Chapter I

The Birth of the Prince and the Pauper

In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. All England wanted him, too. England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that now that he was really come, the people went nearly mad for joy. Mere acquaintances hugged and kissed each other and cried; everybody took a holiday, and high and low, rich and poor, feasted and danced, and sang, and got very mellow?and they kept this up for days and nights together. By day, London was a sight to see, with gay banners waving from every balcony and house-top, and splendid pageants marching along. By night it was again a sight to see, with its great bonfires at every corner and its troops of revelers making merry around them. There was no tlS&