Inside the illustrated edition
The art of making mischief
Sunlight, a white fence and an inconvenient chore. Seven paintings explore the freedom and unease of Twain’s childhood world.
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When the familiar turns strange
Moonlight gathers beneath enormous trees. The night acquires the scale of a child’s imagination.
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A small kingdom of their own
Firelight, forest shadows and three friends. A warm painting of the pleasure of being elsewhere.
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A room turns towards wonder
Daylight fills the aisle as faces turn. Discover the lively human comedy beneath the adventure.
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The courage to speak
A small figure stands before a crowded room. Soft light makes space for a difficult moment.
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Where daylight cannot reach
One candle beside dark water. The cave becomes a world of blue, amber and suspended breath.
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The glimmer of possibility
A little box, a sudden astonishment. Warm brushwork catches the wonder in an ordinary gesture.
View artwork detailsRead. Listen. Stay in the story.
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Distinctive voices, expressive narration and words that light up as you listen. Move between reading and listening in the Read Classics app, at your own pace.
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The opening is yours.
The title announcement, introduction and everything through the end of the first chapter, including any intervening preface or dedication, are included free.
The complete ebook is free in our launch collection. Audio beyond the opening is a separate purchase.
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Read and listen in the Read Classics app: get it for Android now; the iPhone app is coming soon. The website has no player and no file downloads.
Summer by the Mississippi. An imagination that will not sit still.
For Tom Sawyer, chores and lessons are obstacles to the serious business of adventure. In a Missouri river town, Mark Twain turns childhood games, friendships and fears into a lively comedy that also questions the certainties of grown-ups.
Discover the edition
With an original introduction, chronology and further reading. 7 paintings accompany the story.
Read the complete ebook in the Read Classics app, for Android now and for iPhone soon. The free audio opening is separate from ebook access. This website offers an excerpt from the introduction, not an interactive browser reader.
From the introduction
Aunt Polly calls for Tom, and receives no answer. The opening of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer makes a small domestic contest into a performance: the adult searches, the child calculates, and the reader waits for the escape. Tom lives in St. Petersburg, a fictional Missouri town beside the Mississippi, where school, church and household chores compete with swimming, play and the need to impress other children. His imagination supplies an alternative occupation. He borrows roles from adventure stories and persuades others to enter them. The comedy depends on how seriously these games are played, but the world beyond them can be genuinely frightening.
An excerpt from the original Read Classics introduction.
The whitewashed fence
He surveyed the fence
Chapter 2 · Painting 1 of 7
Under the elms
within the protection of three great elms
Chapter 9 · Painting 2 of 7
An island kingdom
The climbing fire lit up their faces
Chapter 13 · Painting 3 of 7
The unexpected return
the church door creaked
Chapter 17 · Painting 4 of 7
Finding his voice
The boy looked wild enough, for he was badly scared.
Chapter 23 · Painting 5 of 7
Beneath the earth
a subterranean lake
Chapter 31 · Painting 6 of 7
A glimmer in the dark
ploughing among the tarnished coins with his hand
Chapter 33 · Painting 7 of 7
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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