The Adventures of Tom Sawyer A Novel [Paperback]

Introduction by Frank Conroy
Commentary by William Dean Howells,Athenaeum, The Illustrated London News,andHartfordChristian Secretary
 
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

This irresistible tale of the adventures of two friends growing up in frontier America is one of Mark Twain’s most popular novels. The farcical, colorful, and poignant escapades of Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn brilliantly depict the humor and pathos of growing up on the geographic and cultural rim of nineteenth-century America. Originally intended for children, the book transcends genre in its magical depiction of innocence and possibility, and is now regarded as one of Twain’s masterpieces. As Frank Conroy observes in his Introduction,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer“has become a sacred text within the body of American literature.”
 
This version, which reproduces the Mark Twain Project edition, is the approved text of the Center for Scholarly Editions of the Modern Language Association.
 
Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide“A sacred text within the body of American literature.”—Frank ConroyFrank Conroy(1936–2005) was the author ofStop-TimeandBody & Soul,among other books.

1. In his preface, Mark Twain remarks that "Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves. . . ." Do you think Twain succeeds in this "plan"? Discuss the ways in which Tom Sawyer can be read by both children and adults-do different aspects of the book appeal to different kinds of readers? Are different episodes designed, as some critics havlãŠ