The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATEDBY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIPThe classic tale of a carefree and courageous boy's coming-of-age in a rural Mississippi River town.EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: A concise introduction that gives readers important background information A chronology of the author's life and work A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations Detailed explanatory notes Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experienceEnriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, published more than thirty literary works, including satire, historical fiction, short stories, and nonfiction. At the age of twelve, Twain left his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, to seek work. His career encompassed a wide variety of occupations -- printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot, journalist, travel writer, and publisher -- which combined to furnish him with a wide knowledge of humanity and the perfect grasp of local customs and speech manifested in his writing. It wasn't until 1885, with the publication of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that Twain was recognized by the literary establishment as one of the greatest writers America would ever produce.

Toward the end of his life, plagued by personal tragedy and financial failure, Twain grew more and more cynical and pessimistic. Though his fame continued to widen -- Yale and Oxford awarded him honorary degrees -- he spent his last years in gloom and desperation. But he lives on in American letters as "the Lincoln of our literature."