Book #56 – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Many years ago, when I was in my Junior year of English, my entire class simultaneously boycotted Huckleberry Finn without anyone really agreeing to do so. It was not until the professor caught on (Sorry, Mr Simpson, we were horrible), that it was discovered that none of us had read past chapter 4. This led to a furious overnight reading of Huckleberry Finn, and a further boycott of Mark Twain that last until approximately 1 pm on November 6th, 2019. That isn’t to say that I didn’t think about reading Mark Twain; I’m pretty sure I own a rather beaten up library-cast-off copy of Prince and the Pauper, actually. So, less of a boycott, as I wasn’t running into library shouting “Down with Twain!” but more shoving all of his works onto the back burner to keep from repeating my Huck Finn disaster.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer were originally published in 1876, although the month of publication differs depending on which side of the Atlantic you’re on. Twain had two publishers; the English copy was printed roughly 6 months earlier than the American, and lacked the illustrations and certain corrections that Twain made at the suggestion of a friend. However, the two different copies may explain why the book was initially a flop, but later became one of Twain’s most notable works, leading to several sequels, including Huck Finn. The adventures of Tom Sawyer have also been reproduced in dozens of movies and television shows, in multiple languages. However, I think the most interesting reproduction I’ve found is that in 2011, there was a ballet of Tom Sawyer produced in Kansas.