The English collection
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The novel
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.
A way into the book
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 Android preview contains the complete introduction and Chapter I.
Inside the illustrated edition
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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.
He surveyed the fence
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
When the familiar turns strange
Moonlight gathers beneath enormous trees. The night acquires the scale of a child’s imagination.
within the protection of three great elms
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
A small kingdom of their own
Firelight, forest shadows and three friends. A warm painting of the pleasure of being elsewhere.
The climbing fire lit up their faces
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
A room turns towards wonder
Daylight fills the aisle as faces turn. Discover the lively human comedy beneath the adventure.
the church door creaked
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The courage to speak
A small figure stands before a crowded room. Soft light makes space for a difficult moment.
The boy looked wild enough, for he was badly scared.
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Where daylight cannot reach
One candle beside dark water. The cave becomes a world of blue, amber and suspended breath.
a subterranean lake
The art of the story · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The glimmer of possibility
A little box, a sudden astonishment. Warm brushwork catches the wonder in an ordinary gesture.
ploughing among the tarnished coins with his hand
In development
The Android preview
Introduction + Chapter I · No account needed.
The Android app lets you try the typography and read the preview offline. It is not yet available for public download.
For now, you can read the introduction excerpt above. This website does not yet offer the reading sample or an interactive reader.
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