What am I writing A historical tale of years ago simply for the love of it Mark Twains tale became his first historical novel The Prince and the Pauper published in 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 literatureThe first edition in 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 illustrations that so pleased the author.
