The Prince and the Pauper

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The Prince and the Pauper is an 1882 book by Mark Twain that represents his first attempt at historical fiction. The book, set in 1547, tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court, London, and Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII of England.

1 Plot summary
2 Literary significance & criticism
3 Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Due to misconceptions of each other's lifestyles, the boys exchange roles, with Tom Canty brought into the palace, and Prince Edward attempting to escape from the clutches of Tom's father. Finally Edward attaches himself to a discredited nobleman, Miles Hendon, who offers to help him return to the palace. Meanwhile, news reaches them that King Henry VIII has died and Edward is the rightful king.

After a series of adventures, including a stint in prison, Edward manages to exchange places with Tom just as the latter is about to celebrate his coronation. Tom is eager to give up the throne, but the nobles refuse to believe that the beggarly child is the rightful king, until he produces the Great Seal that he had hidden before leaving the palace. Later, Miles is rewarded with a raised noble rank of an Earl and the unique family right to sit in the presence of the king. As for Tom, in gratitude in supporting the new King's claim to the throne, Edward names him "The King's Ward," a privileged position he holds for the rest of his life.

[edit] Literary significance & criticism

Much of the humor in the book originates in the two boys' inability to function in the world that is so familiar to the other, although Tom soon displays considerable wisdom in his decisions. In many ways, the book is a social satire, particularly compelling in its condemnation of the inequality that existed between the classes in Tudor England. In that sense, Twain abandons the wry Midwestern style for which he is best known and adopts a style reminiscent of Charles Dickens.

Though not as popular among critics as Twain's other works, the book foreshadowed the author's successful forays into historical fiction with A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The book was later adapted for the stage in an episode that involved Twain in a serious lawsuit with the playwright. It was also the basis of several films, one of which, released in 1937, starred Errol Flynn (as Hendon) and twins Billy and Bobby Mauch as Tom Canty and Edward Tudor respectively. The film was originally intended to coincide with the coronation of King George VI, but its release was delayed and it was first screened the following year in 1937.

The BBC produced a television adaptation of the story, consisting of six 30 minute episodes, in 1976. Nicholas Lyndhurst played both Prince Edward and Tom Canty. It was adapted again in 1996.

The book was also adapted by The Walt Disney Company into a 24-minute short film starring Mickey Mouse, which was released in 1990 and screened with The Rescuers Down Under. In 2004 it was adapted again, this time into an 85-minute CGI-animated musical, Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, with Barbie playing both the blonde Princess Anneliese and the brunette pauper, Erika. Martin Short provided the voice for the villain, Preminger. The film was released directly to DVD and VHS. In 2006 Garfield's second live-action film entitled Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, was yet another adaptation of the classic book. In 2007, there will be the movie about modern-day The Prince and The Pauper story starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse.

In some of these versions, Prince Edward takes the precaution of carrying identification when he assumes Tom's role; an idea whose effectiveness varies depending on the versions.

In music, the Canadian geek rock band Moxy Früvous recorded the song King of Spain which is a modern retelling of the famed story, as the former King works at the Pizza Pizza.

[edit] See also

Doppelgänger.

Works of Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Fiction: Advice for Little Girls • The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County • General Washington's Negro Body-Servant • My Late Senatorial Secretaryship • Mark Twain's (Burlesque) Autobiography and First Romance • The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer • 1601: Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors • The Prince and the Pauper • Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court • The American Claimant • Tom Sawyer Abroad • Pudd'nhead Wilson • Tom Sawyer, Detective • Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc • The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg • A Double Barrelled Detective Story • Edmund Burke on Croker and Tammany • A Dog's Tale • King Leopold's Soliloquy • The War Prayer • The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories • A Horse's Tale • Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven • Letters from the Earth • The Mysterious Stranger • No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger
Non Fiction: The Innocents Abroad • Memoranda (monthly column) • Roughing It • Old Times on the Mississippi • A Tramp Abroad • Life on the Mississippi • How to Tell a Story and other Essays • Following the Equator • What Is Man? • Christian Science • Is Shakespeare Dead? • Queen Victoria's Jubilee • Mark Twain's Autobiography • Mark Twain's Notebook • Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War • The Bible According to Mark Twain: Writings on Heaven, Eden, and the Flood
Short Story Books: Sketches New and Old • A True Story and the Recent Carnival of Crime • Punch, Brothers, Punch! and other Sketches • Merry Tales • The £1,000,000 Bank Note and Other New Stories