| The Prince and the Pauper | |
1st US edition |
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| Author | Mark Twain |
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| Country | Set in England; written in the United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Realistic Fiction Children's literature |
| Publication date | 1881 (Canada) 1882 (United States) |
| ISBN | NA |
The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada before its 1882 publication in the United States. The book represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, the novel 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.
Contents |
Tom Canty, youngest son of a family of beggars living with the dregs of society in Offal Court, has always had aspirations to a better life, encouraged by the local priest who has taught him to read and write. He hangs around the palace gates one day and sees the little prince, and is about to be thrashed and sent away by the guards until the prince commands them to stop and invites Tom inside. Fascinated by the differences of each other's lifestyles and by their similar appearances, the boys exchange roles. Edward leaves in rather a hurry, before the boys are caught at their game, first quickly putting away an article of national importance which we later learn is the Great Seal of England. Soon Prince Edward is attempting to escape from the brutality of Tom's father, while Tom posing as the prince is attempting to cope with court customs and manners. His fellow nobles and palace personnel think "the prince" is suffering an illness that has caused memory loss and fear he will go mad. They repeatedly question him about the missing "Great Seal", but he knows nothing about it. However, when Tom is asked to sit in on judgments, his common-sense observations reassure them that he is of sound mind.
Edward soon encounters Miles Hendon, a soldier and nobleman returning from war. While Miles does not believe Edward's claims to royalty, he humors him and becomes his protector. Meanwhile, news reaches them that King Henry VIII has died and Edward is the rightful king.
As Edward experiences the brutish life of a pauper first hand, he becomes aware of the stark class inequalities in England at that time. In particular, he realizes the harsh and punitive nature of the English judicial system, witnessing women burned at the stake, pilloring, and flogging. He becomes aware that the accused are convicted on the flimsiest of evidence and branded, dismembered, boiled in oil or hung for petty offenses. He vows to reign with mercy when he regains his rightful place. When he unwisely declares before a gang of thieves that he really is the king and will put an end to unjust laws, they assume he is insane, and hold a mock coronation.
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. Tom declares that if anyone had bothered to describe the Seal he could have produced it at once, since he had found it inside a decorative suit of armor where Edward had stashed it, and had been using it to crack nuts.
Edward and Tom finally switch back, and 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. In the end, they all live happily for quite some time. The afterword mentions that Edward died at a young age (which is an unescapeable historical fact - Edward having been an actual historical personage).
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 has foreshadowed the author's successful forays into historical fiction with A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In the later book, Twain depicted some manifestly unjust laws prevailing in Tudor England as if they had already existed in the 5th century society of King Arthur - an obvious anachronism.
The short appearance in the book Edward's sister, future Queen Mary I, had a considerable influence on perptuating her her negative image among the genral reading public - given the enduring popularity of Twain's work. His depiction of her as a cold and cruel person seems to be connected both to Twain's outspoken atheism and to the strong anti-Catholic prejudice prevalent in American society at the time of writing.
The book was later adapted for the stage in an episode that involved Twain in a serious lawsuit with the playwright.
In 1946, the story was adapted by Classic Comics (issue 29) to comic book format. Its line-drawn 'horror cover' was cited in Dr. Frederic Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent (1954) and subsequently replaced with a benign cover produced by well-known Classics Comics series artist Henry Kiefer.[1]
The novel has also been the basis of several films. A silent version, much abridged, was produced, as one of his first films, by Alexander Korda in Austria in 1920 under the title Der Prinz und der Bettelknabe.
The 1937 version 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.
There was a 1962 Disney 3-part Wonderful World of Disney adaptation with Guy Williams as Miles Hendon. It was filmed in Shepperton, England a year earlier for recording.
The 21. episode of the Monkees' T.V. series, aired on February 6, 1967, was named The Prince and the Paupers.
A 1977 film version of the story, starring Oliver Reed as Miles Hendon, co-starring Mark Lester and Raquel Welch, and directed by Richard Fleischer, was released in the UK as The Prince and the Pauper but in the US under the title Crossed Swords.
In 1978, NBC broadcast Ringo, a television special featuring Ringo Starr that was loosely based on the plot of The Prince and The Pauper.
The BBC produced a television adaptation by Richard Harris, consisting of six 30 minute episodes, in 1976. Nicholas Lyndhurst played both Prince Edward and Tom Canty. It was adapted again in 1996.
The Walt Disney Company made a 24 minute short inspired by the book starring Mickey Mouse , which was released in 1990. In 2000 it was adapted again, and in 2004 it was adapted yet 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.
A 2000 Giles Foster film starred Aidan Quinn (as Miles Hendon), Alan Bates, Jonathan Hyde, Jonathan Timmins and Robert Timmins.
In 2007 there was a new movie about a modern-day 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 addition to cartoons like Mickey Mouse having direct translations of the story, multiple cartoons have parodied the storyline, including an episode of Johnny Bravo where Twain himself appears, beseeching cartoonists to "let this tired story die", alluding to the story's prevalence among cartoon adaptions.
The family film It Takes Two utilizes a loose translation of this story in which two girls, one who is quite wealthy and the other an orphan, who miraculously look like each other switch places in order to experience each others lives.
One episode of Kappa Mikey titled Mikey and the Pauper involves Mikey Simon switching lives with Jomar, an urchin who looks exactly like Mikey in anime form.
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.
On the Wishbone TV series, there was an episode titled The Prince and the Pooch.
A Hindi film version titled Raja aur Runk was released in 1968. Director:Kotayya Pratyagatma Writers:Kotayya Pratyagatma (screenplay) R.V. Sastri (screenplay. This film indianized many of the episodes in the original story by Mark Twain. So there are long scenes of love and affection between the boys and the mother of the pauper. The film is replete with songs which remain popular still.
The off-Broadway musical opened at the Lamb's Theater on June16, 2002. The original cast included Dennis Michael Hall as Prince Edward, Gerard Canonico as the Pauper, Rob Evan as Miles Herndon, Wayne Schroder as Hugh Herndon, Rita Harvey as Lady Edith, Michael McCormick as John Canty, Sally Wilfert as Mary Canty, Allison Fischer as Lady Jane, and Guy LeMonnier as Father Andrew. The production closed August 31, 2003.
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