You might wonder what prompted Mark Twain to sidle from straight fiction into the realm of outright fantasy. Twain transports a Connecticut shop foreman twelve centuries into the past [and 5 000 kilometres!] to Camelot and Arthurs court. Initially confused and dismayed, Hank Morgans Yankee practicality is quickly aroused and he becomes a major figure among the panopolied knights. With the title of The Boss, his rank equals The King or The Pope with its uniqueness. His elevation doesnt distract him from a more profound impulse, however. Hanks Yankee roots and wide experience evoke an ambition - nothing less than revolution. He wants to sweep away the monarchy and aristocracy and establish an American-style republic in Arthurian Britain. Mark Twains scathing criticism of the sham of hereditary monarchy bolstered by an Established Church makes this among his choicest writings.
