The Best Short Works of Mark Twain

Mark Twain

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780743487795
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439117255
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

A collection of short works by one of America's most revered, iconoclastic, and enduring voices—Mark Twain.

For deft plot, riotous inventiveness, unforgettable characters, and language that brilliantly captures the lively rhythms of American speech, no American writer comes close to Mark Twain. This sparkling anthology covers the entire span of Twain's inimitable yarn-spinning, from his early broad comedy to the biting satire of his later years. Surging with Twain's ebullient wit and penetrating insight into the follies of human nature, this volume is a vibrant summation of the career of—in the words of H.L. Mencken—"the father of our national literature."

This edition includes:
-A concise introduction that gives readers important background information
-A chronology of the author's life and work
-A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context
-An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations
-Detailed explanatory notes
-Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work
-Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction
-A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Introduction
• Chronology of Mark Twain’s Life and Work
• Historical Context of Mark Twain’s Short Stories
• The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865)
• The Story of the Bad Little Boy (1865)
• Cannibalism in the Cars (1868)
• A Day at Niagara (1869)
• Legend of the Capitoline Venus (1869)
• Journalism in Tennessee (1869)
• A Curious Dream (1870)
• The Facts in the Case of the Great Beef Contract (1870)
• How I Edited an Agricultural Paper (1870)
• A Medieval Romance (1870)
• My Watch (1870)
• Political Economy (1870)
• Science vs. Luck (1870)
• The Story of the Good Little Boy (1870)
• Buck Fanshaw’s Funeral (1872)
• The Story of the Old Ram (1872)
• A True Story (1874)
• Experience of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup (1875)
• The Canvasser’s Tale (1876)
• The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut (1876)
• The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton (1878)
• Edward Mills and George Benton: A Tale (1880)
• The Man Who Put Up at Gadsby’s (1880)
• Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning (1880)
• Jim Baker’s Bluejay Yarn (1880)
• A Curious Experience (1881)
• The Invalid’s Story (1882)
• The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm (1882)
• The Stolen White Elephant (1882)
• A Dying Man’s Confession (1883)
• The Professor’s Yarn (1883)
• The Private History of a Campaign That Failed (1885)
• A Ghost Story (1888)
• Luck (1891)
• Playing Courier (1891)
• The Californian’s Tale (1893)
• Extracts from Adam’s Diary (1893)
• Eve’s Diary (1893, 1905)
• The Esquimau Maiden’s Romance (1893)
• Is He Living or Is He Dead? (1893)
• The £1,000,000 Bank-Note (1893)
• How to Tell a Story (1894)
• Cecil Rhodes and the Shark (1897)
• Why Ed Jackson Called on Commodore Vanderbilt (1897)
• The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1899)
• The Death Disk (1901)
• Two Little Tales (1901)
• The Belated Russian Passport (1902)
• A Double-Barreled Detective Story (1902)
• The Five Boons of Life (1902)
• Was It Heaven? Or Hell? (1902)
• A Dog’s Tale (1903)
• The $30,000 Bequest (1904)
• A Horse’s Tale (1906)
• Hunting the Deceitful Turkey (1906)
• Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven (1907)
• A Fable (1909)
• Interpretive Notes
• Critical Excerpts
• Questions for Discussion
• Suggestions for the Interested Reader
• Notes
• Copyright