Skip to content

TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].

The Prince and the Pauper. A Tale For Young People of All Ages.

“Learning softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity": First Edition, first issue of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper

James R. Osgood and Company: Boston, 1882.

$1,100.00
In Stock Item Number: RRB-150845
* Custom Clamshell Boxes are hand made by the Harcourt Bindery upon request and take approximately 60 days to complete
Add to cart
First edition, first issue of of the author's first historical novel with the Franklin imprint on the copyright page. BAL 3402. Johnson pp. 39-41. Octavo, bound in three quarter burgundy morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, with one hundred and ninety-two illustrations. In near fine condition.
The Prince and the Pauper is a treasured historical satire, played out in two very different socioeconomic worlds of 16th-century England, centers around the lives of two boys born in London on the same day: Edward, Prince of Wales, and Tom Canty, a street beggar. During a chance encounter, the two realize they are identical and, as a lark, decide to exchange clothes and roles — a situation that briefly, but drastically, alters the lives of both youngsters. The Prince, dressed in rags, wanders about the city's boisterous neighborhoods among the lower classes and endures a series of hardships; poor Tom, now living with the royals, is constantly filled with the dread of being discovered for who and what he really is. Brimming with gentle humor and discerning social scrutiny, this timeless tale of transposed identities remains one of Twain's most popular and best-loved novels.
$1,100.00
In Stock
Add to cart