The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain

215 pages

"On an autumn day, in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, two boys were born in England, one to a poor family by the name of Canty who lived in Offal Court, not far from London Bridge, and the other to a wealthy and high-placed family by the name of Tudor. Young Tom Canty, unwanted, unloved, began his day-dreaming early in order to forget the petty stealing to which he was forced by his cruel rogue of a father--and the royal Court and young Prince Edward became the focus of his dreams.

It was beyond Tom's dreaming that he would one day actually meet the Prince and enter the Palace. But Fate had decided that these two boys, born on the same day--and who looked exactly alike--should play a part in the history of England." -Cover

It was refreshing to read the original story, since the version of this story that's most told/heard/seen at our house is the Barbie one! Mark Twain is obviously one of the greatest writers of all time and this story, though not his most famous one, is definitely worth reading. You just can't go wrong with the classics...at least not when you're an adult. (There were plenty of classics I didn't fully appreciate as a teenager, i.e. Wuthering Heights.)

I loved that this book contained classic villains (John Canty) who are downright evil, and true heroes (Miles Hendon) who are good and noble and are rewarded for their actions. Tom and Prince Edward are also good. I loved their sense of justice and of righting wrong in their various spheres of influence, especially when Tom, acting as the prince, summons the prisoners who are about to be executed (in truly gruesome ways) and holds court to determine whether they are actually guilty or not. I also love that he's able to relinquish his crown to the true king without any reluctance or resistance. King Edward responds as a true king should and honors Tom. I think there's a lot to learn from this story about character and integrity.